Blocked
19 The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns,
but the path of the upright is a highway. Proverbs 15:19
So, during our baseball practice this week we saw an interesting situation where a car driving by practice had its hood fly open and cover the windshield of the car which blocked the vision of the driver completely. There is more to the car story but I want to focus on what blocks our vision daily. If you are finding yourself like a sluggard being blocked at every turn by the enemy, maybe it is because you have focused on the wrong path. It is important that we daily focus on walking in an upright manner and we will see where we are going down our highway of life. The two verses on each side of this proverb focus on very interesting topics, verse 18 talks about being hot-tempered and verse 20 talks about not being foolish. I think there is a message in here, be calm, be upright and be wise and we can live a fulfilling life.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, March 20, 2015
Friday, March 13, 2015
Fantastic Friday #462 - Portion
Portion
57 You are my portion, Lord;
I have promised to obey your words.
58 I have sought your face with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to your promise.
59 I have considered my ways
and have turned my steps to your statutes.
60 I will hasten and not delay
to obey your commands. Psalm 119:57-60
When you eat or drink, do you think of portion size? You know the portion size you consume has a direct relationship to your physical appearance. The more you eat and drink, the more your exterior appearance can suffer. Now, one thing experts say when you are trying to be healthy is to watch your portion size. However, how many of you reduce your healthy portions but increase your unhealthy portions. This is not something that is easy control, because typically the unhealthy portions taste so much better. The enemy kind of works this way because his portions tend to look much better to us than our portions from God. This scripture however says He is our portion and since He is as big as he is, his portion is enough for us. We don't need the unhealthy portions in our life we just need Him as our balanced portion. Seek his face, consider your ways, and obey our Father and you will be filled with a healthy portion of all you need.
Have a great weekend.
57 You are my portion, Lord;
I have promised to obey your words.
58 I have sought your face with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to your promise.
59 I have considered my ways
and have turned my steps to your statutes.
60 I will hasten and not delay
to obey your commands. Psalm 119:57-60
When you eat or drink, do you think of portion size? You know the portion size you consume has a direct relationship to your physical appearance. The more you eat and drink, the more your exterior appearance can suffer. Now, one thing experts say when you are trying to be healthy is to watch your portion size. However, how many of you reduce your healthy portions but increase your unhealthy portions. This is not something that is easy control, because typically the unhealthy portions taste so much better. The enemy kind of works this way because his portions tend to look much better to us than our portions from God. This scripture however says He is our portion and since He is as big as he is, his portion is enough for us. We don't need the unhealthy portions in our life we just need Him as our balanced portion. Seek his face, consider your ways, and obey our Father and you will be filled with a healthy portion of all you need.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, March 6, 2015
Fantastic Friday #461 - Commend
Commend
12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves.When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise...18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. 2 Corinthians 10:12,18
To whom or what do spend your time presenting? Do spend time focusing on presenting others with the gospel, or do focus on what you yourself are doing when you are presenting the Gospel. The funny thing is a lot of times we spend too much time thinking about how and what we are going to present to others rather than just letting the Holy Spirit guide us. I think a lot of times we are looking for just the right time and just the right place to present to others why Jesus died for us. That is because we tend to think too much about how we are going to look to others instead of focusing how we look to our Lord. Let the Lord guide us in commending others to the Gospel instead of commending ourselves for sharing the Gospel.
Have a great weekend.
12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves.When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise...18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. 2 Corinthians 10:12,18
To whom or what do spend your time presenting? Do spend time focusing on presenting others with the gospel, or do focus on what you yourself are doing when you are presenting the Gospel. The funny thing is a lot of times we spend too much time thinking about how and what we are going to present to others rather than just letting the Holy Spirit guide us. I think a lot of times we are looking for just the right time and just the right place to present to others why Jesus died for us. That is because we tend to think too much about how we are going to look to others instead of focusing how we look to our Lord. Let the Lord guide us in commending others to the Gospel instead of commending ourselves for sharing the Gospel.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, February 27, 2015
Fantastic Friday #460 - Choices
Choices
23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. 1 Corinthians 10:23-24
We make choices every single day. Some are good choices and some are bad choices, but what kind of impact do they really have on others or on yourself. I made the choice to eat some Blue Bell Tin Roof Sundae Ice Cream this week and I also made a choice not to run this week in freezing temperatures. What does one have to do with the other? Well, one of my weaknesses is Blue Bell and it is beneficial to me only that it tastes good, and because I am not good at moderation, I have to run to offset the non-benefits of weight gain when I eat it. So by not running I have not constructively battled the non-beneficial weight gain.
Now this might not sound anything like what this scripture is teaching, but let's look at it this way. I have the right to go up and tell someone I care about that they are not a very healthy person when they eat a ton of Blue Bell. This does nothing to benefit that person and by handling it this way it deconstructs their opinion of themselves and can be very hurtful. We all know how this person should be approached, yet we see time and time again people being hurtful and not constructive with their comments.
Now, think about a believer in Christ who sees someone doing something against what their beliefs have always been, and instead of approaching them in kindness for their good, they approach this person in a less than constructive manner. If I were non-Christ follower and were approached negatively in this manner, I wouldn't want to be a part of a Christian group of people where I felt belittled. We all need to remember that we are all less-than-adequate in many ways and we should approach individuals in a way that benefits them and is also constructive. This is true love and is good.
Have a great weekend.
23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. 1 Corinthians 10:23-24
We make choices every single day. Some are good choices and some are bad choices, but what kind of impact do they really have on others or on yourself. I made the choice to eat some Blue Bell Tin Roof Sundae Ice Cream this week and I also made a choice not to run this week in freezing temperatures. What does one have to do with the other? Well, one of my weaknesses is Blue Bell and it is beneficial to me only that it tastes good, and because I am not good at moderation, I have to run to offset the non-benefits of weight gain when I eat it. So by not running I have not constructively battled the non-beneficial weight gain.
Now this might not sound anything like what this scripture is teaching, but let's look at it this way. I have the right to go up and tell someone I care about that they are not a very healthy person when they eat a ton of Blue Bell. This does nothing to benefit that person and by handling it this way it deconstructs their opinion of themselves and can be very hurtful. We all know how this person should be approached, yet we see time and time again people being hurtful and not constructive with their comments.
Now, think about a believer in Christ who sees someone doing something against what their beliefs have always been, and instead of approaching them in kindness for their good, they approach this person in a less than constructive manner. If I were non-Christ follower and were approached negatively in this manner, I wouldn't want to be a part of a Christian group of people where I felt belittled. We all need to remember that we are all less-than-adequate in many ways and we should approach individuals in a way that benefits them and is also constructive. This is true love and is good.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Fantastic Friday #459 - Edify
Edify
17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Romans 14:17-19
How often do you think of the word edify? You probably don't think of it much and probably don't use it very much in your vocabulary. Maybe that's where a problem is with our walk with Christ. In order to edify others, we have to first focus on someone other than ourselves, and as humans we tend to be people who focus on ourselves first. When I was sharing my rough day with a friend this week, he reminded me of the fact that there are other people having a rougher day than me, and then he lifted me up with a positive encouraging note. People spend a lot of time focusing on the negative actions of others, or the lack of integrity of their neighbor, but fail to see their own lack of integrity when they are pointing out other's faults. As the scripture says, we should think of how by edifying others that we are actually pleasing God. We should act in a way to that leads to peace and builds others up and not tear them down. Edify someone and see how you can experience peace and joy.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, February 13, 2015
Fantastic Friday #458 - Frustration
Frustration
13 Consider what God has done:
Who can straighten
what he has made crooked?
14 When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Therefore, no one can discover
anything about their future. Ecclesiastes 7:13-14
This week was full of frustration in many ways, but the interesting thing I did on my most frustrating morning was to stop and turn to God's Word. I came across these verses and they really struck a chord. When we stop and consider what God has done in our past, I am sure if you are like me, you can really see many times when He has made a path for you clear. When you stop and think about the times we are happy, they can certainly come and go. But when times are bad, they can really stick out in our minds more than the happy times because the enemy tries to bring us down. How is it that we can't seem to realize that God let's the bad come so we cannot rely on ourselves but on Him. We focus so much on our future sometimes, that we get lost in the present, and when we are lost in the present, it is easy to get distracted from God and His path for us. So, "consider what God has done" and know that God wants what is best for all of us and He wants us.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Fantastic Friday #457 - Father
Father
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you,remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. Ephesians 1:15-23
What do you think of when I say the word father? Everyone has an earthly father that impacted them at some point. Every person has a different opinion of their earthly father. Some had a great childhood with a great father, and some might not have such a good opinion of their father or had a very rough upbringing or an absent father. However we feel about our father, there is one Father that we can always count on. Stop right here now and go back and read this passage out of Ephesians again with one viewpoint as you read, think of the word compassion.
Silence...
What is your view of our Father? In this scripture, these words jump off the page to me; Faithful, Glorious, Powerful, Strong, and Loving. What a wonderful Father He is to us on a daily basis, it just takes a small reminder to realize how great and awesome He is. Stop now to thank Him for being the Best Father, for we need to be thankful for all He provides us.
Have a great weekend.
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you,remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. Ephesians 1:15-23
What do you think of when I say the word father? Everyone has an earthly father that impacted them at some point. Every person has a different opinion of their earthly father. Some had a great childhood with a great father, and some might not have such a good opinion of their father or had a very rough upbringing or an absent father. However we feel about our father, there is one Father that we can always count on. Stop right here now and go back and read this passage out of Ephesians again with one viewpoint as you read, think of the word compassion.
Silence...
What is your view of our Father? In this scripture, these words jump off the page to me; Faithful, Glorious, Powerful, Strong, and Loving. What a wonderful Father He is to us on a daily basis, it just takes a small reminder to realize how great and awesome He is. Stop now to thank Him for being the Best Father, for we need to be thankful for all He provides us.
Have a great weekend.
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