Disturb
11 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:11
A couple of weeks ago I talked about silence and the fact that there is really no complete silence. There are things that disturb us daily, and sometimes people are the most common disturbance we have, or is it. I know there are times when I am sitting, looking for the next task to accomplish, and the enemy disturbs me with something that will distract me. God is ever present and the only thing He is going to distract us from is our sin. He does this by getting the Holy Spirit to interrupt or disturb our thoughts of sinning. Maybe we should keep God on the forefront of our mind while we are looking for that next thing to do, so we do not have the enemy continually disturbing us. Don't have a downcast soul, do not get disturbed, as the scripture says put your hope in Him.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Friday, May 18, 2018
Friday, May 11, 2018
Fantastic Friday #627 - Active
Active
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
Do you find yourself to be an active individual or a passive individual? I know some people that are passive-aggressive and that is not a good thing. They wait in hiding, or plain sight, and then pounce on people or situations without thinking how their words or actions impact that other person. I know when I find myself heading down this path of being a little passive-aggressive, I try to stop and think what God's word says. The thing about God's word is that it is active in every sense of the word. It moves people, it guides people and it gives direction for the wayward. Why then do we ignore it so much? I think that when I am more active with life, I tend to focus more on God's word than when I am passive. When we are active, the enemy is less likely to pounce on us with his passive-aggressive efforts. Be active this weekend not passive, and focus on the Word.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
Do you find yourself to be an active individual or a passive individual? I know some people that are passive-aggressive and that is not a good thing. They wait in hiding, or plain sight, and then pounce on people or situations without thinking how their words or actions impact that other person. I know when I find myself heading down this path of being a little passive-aggressive, I try to stop and think what God's word says. The thing about God's word is that it is active in every sense of the word. It moves people, it guides people and it gives direction for the wayward. Why then do we ignore it so much? I think that when I am more active with life, I tend to focus more on God's word than when I am passive. When we are active, the enemy is less likely to pounce on us with his passive-aggressive efforts. Be active this weekend not passive, and focus on the Word.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Friday, May 4, 2018
Fantastic Friday #626 - Silence
Silence
16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?
17 Unless the Lord had given me help,
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
18 When I said, “My foot is slipping,”
your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. Psalm 94:16-18
When you have opportunities to get away from the craziness we sometimes face, do you find yourself sitting in silence? When you are sitting in silence, you can usually hear things that you normally do not pay attention to. I think we all know the enemy can sometimes be sneaky and silent, and can take advantage of your thoughts when you surrounded by the noise of the world. When we listen in silence, there is no true silence. There is always a sound, a breeze, drop of rain, a bird, something that is making you know that God is there. Have you ever noticed when you think you are sitting in silence, that you actually hear more than you do when you sit in loudness. Take a moment this weekend to try and sit in silence and then begin to identify all the things you hear, and push away from the enemy and what he wants you to hear.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?
17 Unless the Lord had given me help,
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
18 When I said, “My foot is slipping,”
your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. Psalm 94:16-18
When you have opportunities to get away from the craziness we sometimes face, do you find yourself sitting in silence? When you are sitting in silence, you can usually hear things that you normally do not pay attention to. I think we all know the enemy can sometimes be sneaky and silent, and can take advantage of your thoughts when you surrounded by the noise of the world. When we listen in silence, there is no true silence. There is always a sound, a breeze, drop of rain, a bird, something that is making you know that God is there. Have you ever noticed when you think you are sitting in silence, that you actually hear more than you do when you sit in loudness. Take a moment this weekend to try and sit in silence and then begin to identify all the things you hear, and push away from the enemy and what he wants you to hear.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Friday, April 27, 2018
Fantastic Friday #625 - Care
Care
3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,
Then You knew my path.
In the way in which I walk
They have secretly set a snare for me.
4 Look on my right hand and see,
For there is no one who acknowledges me;
Refuge has failed me;
No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Lord:
I said, “You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living. Psalm 142:3-5
Do you find yourself wondering why you care or don't care about certain people or if God actually has the time to care about you? There are times in our life that can be difficult and we can begin to question how God has the time or concern to really care about me. All you have to do is look throughout scripture and see the people that God actually cared about to see how He cares. Then you must realize you only need to look as far as what He did to send His one and only son to die for us to see how much He cares. Daily we should start to look internally at how we care for others and then we can truly see how much our Father in Heaven cares about us. We have to give up our cares in this world to Him, and Cry out for Him to let Him know our gratitude and that we need His help. When we do this He will show His mercy in many ways, you just have to care enough to ask for help.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,
Then You knew my path.
In the way in which I walk
They have secretly set a snare for me.
4 Look on my right hand and see,
For there is no one who acknowledges me;
Refuge has failed me;
No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Lord:
I said, “You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living. Psalm 142:3-5
Do you find yourself wondering why you care or don't care about certain people or if God actually has the time to care about you? There are times in our life that can be difficult and we can begin to question how God has the time or concern to really care about me. All you have to do is look throughout scripture and see the people that God actually cared about to see how He cares. Then you must realize you only need to look as far as what He did to send His one and only son to die for us to see how much He cares. Daily we should start to look internally at how we care for others and then we can truly see how much our Father in Heaven cares about us. We have to give up our cares in this world to Him, and Cry out for Him to let Him know our gratitude and that we need His help. When we do this He will show His mercy in many ways, you just have to care enough to ask for help.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Friday, April 20, 2018
Fantastic Friday #624 - Anxiety
Anxiety
18 For I confess my iniquity;I am full of anxiety because of my sin.
19 But my enemies are vigorous and strong,And many are those who hate me wrongfully.
20 And those who repay evil for good,They oppose me, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;O my God, do not be far from me!
22 Make haste to help me,O Lord, my salvation! Psalm 38:18-22
Do you feel anxious? This can be common to many of us for many reasons, but the enemy wants you to feel this way. The enemy wants you to feel hopeless. That is one of the challenges with each one of our lives, we just have a difficulty in overcoming that anxiety. That is why I like this passage along with many other verses in Psalms. David is crying out to the Lord and wants Him to help. The great thing about this is that God is always there to help. He is always there to help walk us away from sin or the anxiety that tries to defeat us. We just need to remember the answer is in prayer to our Father, who loves us and wants to help us.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
18 For I confess my iniquity;I am full of anxiety because of my sin.
19 But my enemies are vigorous and strong,And many are those who hate me wrongfully.
20 And those who repay evil for good,They oppose me, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;O my God, do not be far from me!
22 Make haste to help me,O Lord, my salvation! Psalm 38:18-22
Do you feel anxious? This can be common to many of us for many reasons, but the enemy wants you to feel this way. The enemy wants you to feel hopeless. That is one of the challenges with each one of our lives, we just have a difficulty in overcoming that anxiety. That is why I like this passage along with many other verses in Psalms. David is crying out to the Lord and wants Him to help. The great thing about this is that God is always there to help. He is always there to help walk us away from sin or the anxiety that tries to defeat us. We just need to remember the answer is in prayer to our Father, who loves us and wants to help us.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Friday, April 13, 2018
Fantastic Friday #623 - Choose
Choose
12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. 17 This I command you, that you love one another. John 15:12-17
We all have choices we make every day on how we are going respond to other people. Maybe you have that really irritating person that just won't stop talking and continues to draw the conversation to what is going with them. Or you have those people that are attacking other people on social media even though they do not have an inkling of the truth, but just want to take a side against someone, kind of like the mob mentality. Maybe you have that person who constantly asks the same question over and over again, or you have those people who are supposed to know what they are doing, but they have zero clue on how to handle things. We have a choice on how we will respond to people. A lot of times our first thought might be to lash out, or comment to those people that are hurting others. Then again, you might think, it is better not to say anything so things don't cause a big uproar. Maybe we ought to see what God's command was in this verse. If we love others like he loves us, think of the change we could make. Remember God chooses us. Let that sink in a minute. If God loves us enough to choose us, sinners, then shouldn't we choose to love those around us and not berate them, beat them down, and treat them horribly? Choose the right kind of love, the forgiving love that is given to us by our Father in Heaven.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. 17 This I command you, that you love one another. John 15:12-17
We all have choices we make every day on how we are going respond to other people. Maybe you have that really irritating person that just won't stop talking and continues to draw the conversation to what is going with them. Or you have those people that are attacking other people on social media even though they do not have an inkling of the truth, but just want to take a side against someone, kind of like the mob mentality. Maybe you have that person who constantly asks the same question over and over again, or you have those people who are supposed to know what they are doing, but they have zero clue on how to handle things. We have a choice on how we will respond to people. A lot of times our first thought might be to lash out, or comment to those people that are hurting others. Then again, you might think, it is better not to say anything so things don't cause a big uproar. Maybe we ought to see what God's command was in this verse. If we love others like he loves us, think of the change we could make. Remember God chooses us. Let that sink in a minute. If God loves us enough to choose us, sinners, then shouldn't we choose to love those around us and not berate them, beat them down, and treat them horribly? Choose the right kind of love, the forgiving love that is given to us by our Father in Heaven.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Friday, April 6, 2018
Fantastic Friday #622 - Flee
Good Morning,
Flee
11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:11-12
While the lead-in verse to this passage in verse 10 is discussing money, I think you can apply this to most anything that is not of God and what he wants from our life. When we start the day, do we begin with the thought that I am going to flee the unrighteous life, or do we not even think about it during this part of our day? I know that one of the things that I begin prayer with each day is to ask God to guide me down the path of righteousness and not deviate from it. Sometimes people draw you into negativity which can pull you towards that unrighteous walk because you aren't leading in faith and love. God is very clear with how we should pursue righteousness, all we need to do is stop and remember these words. Faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Remember that the next time you wake up, today I am going to pursue righteousness in these four ways.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Flee
11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:11-12
While the lead-in verse to this passage in verse 10 is discussing money, I think you can apply this to most anything that is not of God and what he wants from our life. When we start the day, do we begin with the thought that I am going to flee the unrighteous life, or do we not even think about it during this part of our day? I know that one of the things that I begin prayer with each day is to ask God to guide me down the path of righteousness and not deviate from it. Sometimes people draw you into negativity which can pull you towards that unrighteous walk because you aren't leading in faith and love. God is very clear with how we should pursue righteousness, all we need to do is stop and remember these words. Faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Remember that the next time you wake up, today I am going to pursue righteousness in these four ways.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
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