Good Morning Men,
Correction
1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates correction is stupid.
2 A good man obtains favor from the LORD,
but the LORD condemns a crafty man.
3 A man cannot be established through wickedness,
but the righteous cannot be uprooted. Proverbs 12:1-3
How do you handle feedback or correction? Do you automatically brush it off as something you don't think you need, or do you listen carefully? Do you take in what is being said to you and then evaluate how you can do better? The enemy wants you to react with anger and frustration, because that draws a line between you and the Lord. If that line is drawn by you then wickedness can slip into your life, and that is exactly where the enemy wants you. I like the picture of taking feedback from my fellow brother to gain knowledge that will help me grow, rather than being condemned or stuck in wickedness. Ground yourselves in righteousness and allow that correction in your life so you won't look stupid.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Friday, August 26, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Fantastic Friday #276- Perserverance
Perseverance
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 2 Peter 1:3-9
As people on this earth do you ever find yourself thinking you are a powerful individual? What makes you powerful or think that you are powerful? Our minds can be caught in our world that tells us that with money comes power, or being larger than life/famous is powerful, or having a ton of followers can give you power. But looking at the above scripture, only the Lord has Divine Power, and through that power He gives us those promises when we have faith in Him and persevere. It is interesting how God shows that through His power we can increase our knowledge of Him and be productive. When you are productive we are powerful through Him and can show others where the true power lives. Persevere my dear friends, persevere.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Fantastic Friday #275- Shield
Shield
3 But you, LORD, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the LORD,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
6 I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side. Psalm 3:3-6
What do you think of when you hear the word shield. Have you ever thought of what a shield is made of and what good it really is for someone? It all really comes down to being a protective device and in the past they have typically been made out of a strong metal to repel the attacks of another fighter. I really like how we can look at something so simple and see how we can view God and who He is for us. When you feel attacked by the evil one, or beat down by what the world has to offer, put your Faith in the Lord and let Him be the shield for you. He can repel any attack of the evil one, any feeling of inadequacy, any sadness and any general negative situation in our life. Use your Faith to raise up God to His place, and that is your strong protector.
Have a great weekend.
3 But you, LORD, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the LORD,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
6 I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side. Psalm 3:3-6
What do you think of when you hear the word shield. Have you ever thought of what a shield is made of and what good it really is for someone? It all really comes down to being a protective device and in the past they have typically been made out of a strong metal to repel the attacks of another fighter. I really like how we can look at something so simple and see how we can view God and who He is for us. When you feel attacked by the evil one, or beat down by what the world has to offer, put your Faith in the Lord and let Him be the shield for you. He can repel any attack of the evil one, any feeling of inadequacy, any sadness and any general negative situation in our life. Use your Faith to raise up God to His place, and that is your strong protector.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Fantastic Friday #274- Prepared
Prepared
15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 1 Peter 3:15-17
How prepared do you find yourself when someone asks you about what you believe and why? On many occasions it might be easy to overlook who we are in Christ, because we get distracted by the speed of our travels, getting a job done, or getting away from the question that is asked be cause we feel uncomfortable. It could be that we might find ourselves unsure of what we actually believe or hold value in, which causes us to be uncomfortable. I hold strongly to the belief that it is important to sit down and write what we believe and why we believe it, so it can be easier communicated when we are asked that question. It doesn't have to be some complex terminology that you have heard the pastor talk about, or a scripture you don't quite understand. It can be the simplest description or scripture of what gives you hope and what keeps you focused on God and not yourself. Remember, Christ paid the ultimate price for us, so we don't need to feel uncomfortable to talk about Him when He already suffered for us.
Have a great weekend.
15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 1 Peter 3:15-17
How prepared do you find yourself when someone asks you about what you believe and why? On many occasions it might be easy to overlook who we are in Christ, because we get distracted by the speed of our travels, getting a job done, or getting away from the question that is asked be cause we feel uncomfortable. It could be that we might find ourselves unsure of what we actually believe or hold value in, which causes us to be uncomfortable. I hold strongly to the belief that it is important to sit down and write what we believe and why we believe it, so it can be easier communicated when we are asked that question. It doesn't have to be some complex terminology that you have heard the pastor talk about, or a scripture you don't quite understand. It can be the simplest description or scripture of what gives you hope and what keeps you focused on God and not yourself. Remember, Christ paid the ultimate price for us, so we don't need to feel uncomfortable to talk about Him when He already suffered for us.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Fantastic Friday #273- Consumed
Consumed
22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23
When you wake up in the morning, is there something that consumes your thoughts which in turn changes into consuming your actions, which eventually consumes your entire day? What tends to consume our thoughts is typically a worry that shouldn't keep us from focusing on what God wants us to focus on daily. What God wants to remind us of is His compassionate love that always seems to be enough. While we always want more to keep us from being consumed by things we don't want, why not change your consumption to the Lord and what He wants for us. His faithfulness is always there and we need not be consumed with what direction we are heading next. He will provide.
Have a great weekend.
22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23
When you wake up in the morning, is there something that consumes your thoughts which in turn changes into consuming your actions, which eventually consumes your entire day? What tends to consume our thoughts is typically a worry that shouldn't keep us from focusing on what God wants us to focus on daily. What God wants to remind us of is His compassionate love that always seems to be enough. While we always want more to keep us from being consumed by things we don't want, why not change your consumption to the Lord and what He wants for us. His faithfulness is always there and we need not be consumed with what direction we are heading next. He will provide.
Have a great weekend.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Fantastic Friday #272- Axhead
Axhead
1 The company of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.”
And he said, “Go.”
3 Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?”
“I will,” Elisha replied. 4 And he went with them.
They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!”
6 The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 7 “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it. 2 Kings 6:1-6
Do you have an Axhead in your life or better yet a burden that drags you down? Looking back at this week I was thinking of all the burdens that we tend to let weigh us down with a heavy heart or mind on a regular basis. The interesting thing about this story above is that the Axhead sank to the bottom of the Jordan and was completely unseen, but the guy who dropped it in the water knew it was still there. How many of us allow our axheads to be hidden from others, but at the same time we still know they are still there weighing down our heart and we feel helpless like there is nothing we can do to lift that axhead. Well, with the power of God, Elisha was able to make the iron axhead float and be recovered. How about we rely on the Holy Spirit, who is living in us, to raise our axheads so they don't weigh us down. This way we can keep from feeling helpless from what is pulling us down to the bottom.
Have a great weekend.
1 The company of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.”
And he said, “Go.”
3 Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?”
“I will,” Elisha replied. 4 And he went with them.
They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!”
6 The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 7 “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it. 2 Kings 6:1-6
Do you have an Axhead in your life or better yet a burden that drags you down? Looking back at this week I was thinking of all the burdens that we tend to let weigh us down with a heavy heart or mind on a regular basis. The interesting thing about this story above is that the Axhead sank to the bottom of the Jordan and was completely unseen, but the guy who dropped it in the water knew it was still there. How many of us allow our axheads to be hidden from others, but at the same time we still know they are still there weighing down our heart and we feel helpless like there is nothing we can do to lift that axhead. Well, with the power of God, Elisha was able to make the iron axhead float and be recovered. How about we rely on the Holy Spirit, who is living in us, to raise our axheads so they don't weigh us down. This way we can keep from feeling helpless from what is pulling us down to the bottom.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Fantastic Friday #271- Mountains
Good Morning Men,
Mountains
You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness,
O God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,
who formed the mountains by your power,
having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations. Psalm 65: 5-7
What mountain are you climbing? Is it a physical mountain or a mountain of pain of suffering? Or do you think it is a mountain and it is really a small hill. Whatever that mountain is in your life, remember the One who created the larger mountains is there for you. If He could create something that large and beautiful, then surely He an help you with your mountain.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Mountains
You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness,
O God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,
who formed the mountains by your power,
having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations. Psalm 65: 5-7
What mountain are you climbing? Is it a physical mountain or a mountain of pain of suffering? Or do you think it is a mountain and it is really a small hill. Whatever that mountain is in your life, remember the One who created the larger mountains is there for you. If He could create something that large and beautiful, then surely He an help you with your mountain.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
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