Fantastic Friday #915 - Maximum

Maximum

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 2 Peter 3:11-15

When you complete a task do you give your maximum effort? Or, do you provide just enough effort that will get the job done, I see people every day putting forth a limited effort to get from one place to another, or just enough effort to understand what is being discussed. Our effort we put forth can be seen by others, and if we are only putting forth a partial effort for God and his plan, we could fall short severely. In everything we do we should make every effort to follow the guidelines He has set out for us, and when we do this it will make following God so much easier. Minimal effort brings minimal results, however Maximum effort brings about a multitude of blessings. Make your effort fruitful and maximize the possibilities around you.


Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #914 - Snow

Snow

16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.[a]
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.

18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool. Isaiah 1:16-18

My sister had her first snow of the season a week or so ago. While it was cold and rainy here where I live, just a few days later it was in the 80s. It is amazing the transition of the seasons and the different places around the world. So are the seasons in our lives, where one day can be a day filled with joy and happiness, come the next day it can be filled with challenges and concern. When we are apart from God, we can have sadness and darkness in our lives. While we will always have challenges and concerns in our lives, I can have confidence that God is always there and can rescue me from whatever is going on. Knowing that our sins can be forgiven, gives me hope to make it through the challenging times. We need to be obedient, and we need to follow what path God has set out for us. God can give us a picture of perfection, and we just need to strive to be those individuals that seek Him out daily. Just like the fresh first fallen snow, our sinful life can be made clean and beautiful.

Fantastic Friday #913 - Discover

Discover

23 All this I tested by wisdom and I said,

“I am determined to be wise”—
but this was beyond me.
24 Whatever exists is far off and most profound—
who can discover it?
25 So I turned my mind to understand,
to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
and the madness of folly. Ecclesiastes 7:23-25


What have you discovered in the past week when reflecting on your life? We all have a purpose and want to improve ourselves, and I assume we want to pursue wisdom from God. However, our mind can get cluttered and can retreat into some pretty dark places if we aren't careful. The wickedness of people is prevalent and has always been around, but with wisdom we can avoid it, along with discovering what God wants for each one of us. We need to daily turn our mind to learn and understand what God wants, and fend off the enemy with everything we have. Discover what God wants from you and live it. Find the thing that keeps you close to Him and develop that wisdom of life to be able to share with others.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #912 - Yesterday

Yesterday

7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. Hebrews 13:7-9


Do you remember what you were like yesterday? Were you much different today than you were yesterday? As we go through our walk in life, God wants us to come closer to him and to live a righteous life. If you were the same today as you were yesterday, how can you be better? Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. If we want to aspire to be more like Jesus, then we need to work on being better each day. We are not perfect and that is OK, and while Jesus’ sacrifice atones for our sins that does not mean we keep sinning, but we become better individuals every day. These types of steps to righteousness can be taken in small steps each day. Maybe it's a kind word you share with someone, perhaps it's spending time in God's word, possibly it's strengthening that relationship with God while you are in prayer, or perchance it's making a life change that is necessary because it's impacting you and your family too much in a negative way. We can't change overnight, but we can change what we did yesterday by not following the sinful path. Look back on yesterday and see where you can make a change to be better.

Have a great weekend.



Matt

Fantastic Friday #911 - Limitation

Limitation

18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. Romans 6:18-20

About two weeks ago I had surgery on my left thumb. The past two weeks has been challenging and has severely limited my ability to do certain things and do more common things with the speed and agility that I normally do. Something as simple as tying my shoes, I cannot do that myself and rely upon assistance. We are all limited in our ability to be perfect because no one is perfect, everyone has sin in their life. However, this scripture perfectly outlines how we are no longer slaves to the sin that can encompass our lives. God's forgiveness is for us if we are truly interested in abandoning our life of sin then freeing us from the limitations that sin places on us. Those limitations include being close to God and I don't want to be a person who is separated from God. So, when you think about the limitations that you have, God can release you from those limitations and free you from the sin that surrounds us every single day.


Have a great weekend.


Matt

Fantastic Friday # 910 - Corrupt

Corrupt

23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[c] paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil. Proverbs 4:23-27

The world is full of corrupt people. Even thousands of years ago, before Christ came to the earth, there were corrupt people. Many times, people blame each other for being corrupt, or circumstances they are placed in, put them in the position of being corrupt. I think we all know that there is a deeper reason for the corruption in our society and that is the enemy. The enemy thrives off our weaknesses, and he puts the idea in our head that being just a little bit corrupt is not a big deal. The problem with that philosophy is that a little bit leads to a little bit more and a little bit more until the entire person becomes corrupt. It is good that God has given direction for more than a few millennia on how we can avoid falling into the trap of being corrupt. Keeping our mouth away from perverse talk and looking straight ahead are the easiest ways that we can stay away from living a life that is corrupt and focusing on this life that God wants for us. Be steadfast.


Have a great weekend.


Matt

Fantastic Friday #909 - Thoughts

Thoughts


8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9



Do you ever wonder about God's thoughts? Do you wonder why He blesses some and not others, allows some to die and others to be healed, or is silent when you you think you need Him the most? These are thoughts that have gone through my mind over the years, and I always end up back at what this scripture says. God is on a whole different plane of existence than me, and His plans cannot be fathomed by me because of who He is. As creator and all-knowing, He can see everything and know himself why things are done certain ways. We also have to remember the free agency He has given us that can sometimes drive us away from Him. We may not choose the way we need to go, but God's plans never change, and He wants the best for us. He may allow us to suffer, he may allow some to pass on, and he may be silent, but we need to remember that His thoughts are always there, even if we don't know what they are and their impact on us. Don't waste time thinking about God's thoughts, just focus on Him and your relationship with Him, because the revelation of His thoughts are not of this world but of something greater.


Have a great weekend.


Matt