Fantastic Friday #1028 - First

First

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33

What do you do first? This question could be used in almost every scenario in your life. When you receive bad news, when you fail at something, or when you open your eyes to a new day. A lot of times people will seek the things of this world first, and I certainly have done my fair share of seeking things before my Father. Every now and then we need this reminder of what we should be seeking, and this scripture outlines it perfectly. Seek the kingdom and his righteousness is definitely not on the top of my daily list, and my heart needs to change. If we can focus on these two aspects of seeking first, it will put everything else into perspective. So when we receive the bad news, seek Him. When we fail at something, seek Him. When we wake up to start the day, seek Him. I guarantee placing Him at the top of your list and heart will make a huge difference as you go throughout your day.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #1027 - Slowness

Slowness

8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:8-9

How fast is your life? Do you find yourself moving through time and space way faster than you anticipated? We all have a gauge on time internally, times when we need nourishment, rest and reflection. When our lives are going fast, we eat too fast, we sleep very little and reflect on nothing except what is in front of us. We probably need to think of how we view time and what is important to us. Maybe we are asking for something from God, and the answer just isn't coming fast enough. If we stop and think about slowing our lives down, several things can happen. One, we are able to slow down and reflect on God and His righteousness, and the gift to us of life everlasting. Two, within our reflection, our lives are reviewed much more carefully, we are able to nourish ourselves and rest for appropriate periods. I also feel that as we slow down, we can hear the voice of God much more clearly in our lives, and tend not to miss His gentle nudges to a direction we need. Slowness is something that needs to be intentional, and the more we pay attention to a slowed down life, the closer to God we will be, and His teachings for us will unfold during His time frame. Don't let yourself speed past Him and not feel the nudging of the Holy Spirit.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #1026 - Strength

Strength

16 But I will sing of your strength,
in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.

17 You are my strength, I sing praise to you;
you, God, are my fortress,
my God on whom I can rely. Psalm 59:16-17

I am weak, I admit it. I always think that I am stronger, until I find the weakness that overtakes me physically and emotionally. My kids tell me that I am an emotional dad, and that is true, but I also am a dad and husband who wants to fix everything. When I can't fix everything, my weakness shows when I don't rely on our Father in Heaven. Our relationship with God should be one of regular reliance, and not one of, I will call on you when I need you because I am strong enough on my own. Reliance should be daily, and should involve a close conversational relationship with Him, so when you truly need extra guidance and hope, it does not seem like your relationship is just beginning. I love this scripture showing how God is and can be our strength, but we should also acknowledge His strength in our relationship and remember we can't do it all on our own, and we can't fix everything ourselves. Only God can fully fix us and what is going on in our life.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #1025 - Adore

Adore

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke 2:13-20


The word Adore is listed with the definition of "to regard with the utmost esteem, love, respect and honor". When the shepherds came to view Jesus for the first time in the scripture above, all I can think of is the Christmas carol line, "oh come let us adore him." How special that must have been to see the Savior and the angels guiding the way. Do you adore Jesus like the shepherds did, or do you find yourself at times not honoring Him how you should? We all can take a lesson from those who glorified God for all they had seen, and have faith that even better things are to come for you and your families if you trust Him every day of your life and completely Adore him.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #1024 - Reflection

Reflection

11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:11-13


Do you ever look at your reflection in the mirror, I mean really look? When I was a child there were two mirrors in one of our bathrooms directly across from each other. When I looked at my reflection in one of the mirrors, the opposite mirror created an infinite view of me that seemed to go on forever. One thing that I never did was focus on the true detail, but now thinking back as the reflection was further away, it was harder to make out certain features. Now, think about how you reflect Christ. When you look closely at your own self, are you reflecting what Christ taught? Are you following the commands that God has set forth? Just like the double reflection in the mirror, the further we are away from Christ, it is harder to see His reflection in us. I think self reflection is very important, and there has been a significant amount of that recently. I know that each time I focus on what Christ wants, it is easier to see my own reflection on others and what I am doing. Pay close attention to your reflection and see if you can make out a clear picture of what God wants.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #1023 - Forward

Forward

Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God. Hebrews 6:1

What do you look forward to in your day? Do you find yourself looking forward to what could happen, or do you look forward to what God provides you? I have been known to look at the worst case scenario at times, and that is not what our Father in Heaven wants. One of the reasons that the teachings of Christ are so elementary is because it shows us the simplest way to follow Him. There is no challenging ladder to climb to follow Christ and that is something to look forward to every day. Now, as we mature in our lives, we can look forward to all the aspects of God's work in our lives, including having faith in His plan for us, and we can look forward to His involvement in every aspect of our lives. Keep looking forward daily, but look forward to what God will provide to His faithful servants. Keep in mind that nothing in God's plan is bad, for it all leads to life everlasting.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #1022 - Confidence

Confidence

35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” Hebrews 10:35-37

We all have something we are going through in our life. The challenges that are laid down before us many times will test our faith and confidence in our Heavenly Father. When we are in the middle of these challenges, He doesn't want us to question why, how or when, but He wants us to lean into His plan for our life. I know I am the one type of personality that is a big questioner and at times goes to the worst possible place. This is not the best thing for me or those around me, because then the hope and confidence we have in our Father is diminished. When this is diminished, the enemy finds an easier route to our mind to try and tell us that God doesn't care about us and our plight. So, we need to lean into the confidence we have in our God, and remember that He is always there and always has a plan for Good. While it may not seem like it at the time, He does want the best for us and He will always be there.

Have a great weekend.

Matt