Fantastic Friday #536 - React

React

The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him. Psalm 28:7

Our lives are filled with passion, enjoyment, and love but sometimes there are hard times. Many of us ask why we are having this difficulty in our lives and some tend to react to quickly to a situation. When we react quickly instead of stepping back and looking at the whole picture, this can lead to hurt feelings, frustration, and mistakes. Every individual is given challenges in their life and God wants us to step back at times, look at the challenge and see how we can overcome it. If we are thoughtful, we know that we can't overcome these things through our own power, but must rely on God. This very simple short scripture shows how easy it can be to get through these difficult times. God is our strength, God is our Shield. Don't you think if you trust in God with all your heart that He will help you? This is where we begin and don't forget to thank and praise God, because God does great things for all of us.


Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Friday #535 - Hear

Hear


6 I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;

turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.

7 Show me the wonders of your great love,

you who save by your right hand

those who take refuge in you from their foes. Psalm 17:6-7


Hear my prayer. I can't tell you how many times I have said that phrase this and last week. I have said it so many times, I begin to wonder if God is really listening. If I would stop and take a look at my past and the many times I have asked God for something and how many times He has come through with answers, maybe my anxious heart would not be pounding so much. The problem we all have is that our memory is short on the wonders that He has shown, and we tend to forget the times He has saved us physically and spiritually from the battles we face. Battles are going to come and so are major tests. God always wants to see how we are going to react under the stress and pressure of these tests. Now, if we would take a moment to hear what God is saying, I mean truly listen, then our anxiety would be lifted. Look at what He has done and hear what He will do in HIs time.

Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Friday #534 - Self

Self

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving,considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. James 3:13-18

When you hear a teaching or good reflection on God's Word, do you say, boy James should be here to listen to this message. Or, when you are reading the scriptures, do you say, Samantha really needs to hear this after what I have seen her doing. I can guarantee you that those thoughts are not from God, but the worldly spirits around us that try so hard to pull the focus away from God. It is not really up to us to know what message is right or wrong for someone else, but it is up to us to listen to every message and see how it can apply to our own life. We can get too caught up in verses and messages not to hear God speaking to us. The best way to handle this is to prayerfully prepare your heart for the message or Word and then pray after to ask God to reveal what this message or verse means to you, not to anyone else. I know that if you approach God in Humility, the wisdom you gain will be exponential.

Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Friday #533 - Voices

Voices

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. 1 John 4:1-3

Do you hear voices during your day? That might sound a bit weird and people start wondering about you if you talk about the voices you do hear. We all hear voices if we listen, the problem is not all of these voices are God. How do I know? I know because the voice of God is typically clear and comforting, and the voices of the enemy are usually accusatory, demeaning or they try to make a deal with you. The wonderful thing about God is He is not into making deals. Yes, He wants our faithfulness, but He is not going to tell you He is going to fix something as long as you do something for Him. He is going to provide in many ways in His time and not on our timeline. So, we can't rush Him along in His decisions and we definitely won't hear an arrangement from His voice. Bend your ear through all the mess we have surrounding us and listen to what God actually says, and not what we think He says.

Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Friday #532 - Pride

Pride

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh,the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:15-17

Who tells you whether you have value? Do you tell yourself that people around you will see that you have value because you did something special for someone. It is probably not the world who you should be relying upon to tell you what you are worth. We tend to focus on the world to lift us up, and the problem is there are things in this world that lead to pride. As the scripture says, the world and its desires pass away, but God does not and that is who we should be turning to. God values all His children and we shouldn't need other people to tell us we have value, but we should focus on God and what He has for us.

Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Friday #531 - Shield

Shield

10 My shield is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart. Psalm 7:10

What are you inundated with daily? Is it the food that is on every street corner telling you to just pick up something quick instead of cooking a family meal, or is it that sweet tea or Dr. Pepper that is so enticing in the 64 oz container instead a nice cold glass of water. Maybe it is some movie or TV show that is for mature audiences only, or maybe it is advertisement in a magazine or the web that is highly inappropriate. We are filled daily with things that are of this world and not really what we should be watching or doing. God provides the shield we need to protect us from these things when the enemy attacks us daily. Make a choice to use that shield, including immersing yourself in God's Word, your family and appropriate things to make you laugh and enjoy life. These are the things God wants for us and not to follow a path that separates us from Him.

Have a great weekend.

Fantastic Friday #530 - Bumble

Bumble

2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.

3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. James 3:2-4

Do you find yourself bumbling and stumbling around during your daily walk? Do you find it sometimes difficult to keep yourself in check? Many times we look to keep ourselves from following the wrong path by telling ourselves that I won't do that, I can't do that to myself, or I won't ever do that. We tend to believe ourselves until we actually do what we are trying to convince ourselves we shouldn't be doing. The problem with all of this is the "I" syndrome, I can't and I won't which typically turns into I will and I can. We have to look at someone else as the pilot and not turn to our own desires of where we think should head, but the true Pilot our Lord and Savior. I hate that bumper sticker that says God is my Co-pilot, because all that means is we rely on Him when we decide we need Him. Don't spend your time bumbling around, how about treating God as your Pilot and let Him steer your ship and guide you daily.

Have a great weekend.