Moving
13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14
This week was a constant moving target full of meetings, deadlines, events, practices, and preparation. What tends to happen when you are constantly moving is you forget to see what you need to see. You tend to focus only on the moving that you have to do and not think about how you are getting through all these things in life. Frustration can build up and cause a complete distraction of where you need to be focused. Fear then can enter your thoughts as you move quickly through the day and worry about not completing the many things that you think you need to finish. While we don't have to worry about the Pharaoh chasing us, the impact of all these things in our life can cause us anxiety unless we realize we need to be still, and let the Lord fight for us. Slow down your movement and let the Lord deliver you.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
Fantastic Friday #311- Press
Press
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let Israel say:
“His love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say:
“His love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the LORD say:
“His love endures forever.”
5 When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD;
he brought me into a spacious place.
6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
7 The LORD is with me; he is my helper.
I look in triumph on my enemies. Psalm 118: 1-7
I was thinking today about my shirts that I wear to work each day. Every week I press the shirts to get the wrinkles out, so they are a smooth, clean-cut shirt. Do you find yourself being pressed like and iron on a shirt. Maybe you feel the heat, or the pressure from other people to perform. If you think about the space between an iron and a shirt, it is a very small space that has a lot of heat produced to smooth out the shirt. If you read this passage you can see how the Lord can bring you out of the tight space that you can find yourself in sometimes. The Lord puts you into a spacious place, where you won't feel hard-pressed by the people around you. Count on Him, because as the scripture says, the Lord's love endures forever and He is your helper.
Have a great weekend.
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let Israel say:
“His love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say:
“His love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the LORD say:
“His love endures forever.”
5 When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD;
he brought me into a spacious place.
6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
7 The LORD is with me; he is my helper.
I look in triumph on my enemies. Psalm 118: 1-7
I was thinking today about my shirts that I wear to work each day. Every week I press the shirts to get the wrinkles out, so they are a smooth, clean-cut shirt. Do you find yourself being pressed like and iron on a shirt. Maybe you feel the heat, or the pressure from other people to perform. If you think about the space between an iron and a shirt, it is a very small space that has a lot of heat produced to smooth out the shirt. If you read this passage you can see how the Lord can bring you out of the tight space that you can find yourself in sometimes. The Lord puts you into a spacious place, where you won't feel hard-pressed by the people around you. Count on Him, because as the scripture says, the Lord's love endures forever and He is your helper.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Fantastic Friday #310- Spin
Spin
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are stained with blood,
your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken falsely,
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.
They pursue evil schemes;
acts of violence mark their ways.
8 The way of peace they do not know;
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;
no one who walks along them will know peace. Isaiah 59:1-8
No, you didn't read incorrectly, I said spin not sin. It is interesting how closely the words are related, one has just one more letter than the other. Do you sit back and see how some people can spin things in their favor, even if it does look wrong. Sometimes people can spin something in so many directions that they make it sound right and correct. That is the thing with sin, you can try to spin it in many different ways, but in the end it is still sin. If you think about the spider who spins his web, that is the just like the enemy trying to trap us in sin with his spinning of evil things to make them look good. The nice thing about this passage in the Old Testament, it shows there is hope to those who can avoid the spin.
21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the LORD. Isaiah 59:21
While we may not live in Old Testament times like in this Isaiah passage, we can still avoid the spin and rely on our Lord's spirit, because He is always here.
Have a great weekend.
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are stained with blood,
your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken falsely,
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.
They pursue evil schemes;
acts of violence mark their ways.
8 The way of peace they do not know;
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;
no one who walks along them will know peace. Isaiah 59:1-8
No, you didn't read incorrectly, I said spin not sin. It is interesting how closely the words are related, one has just one more letter than the other. Do you sit back and see how some people can spin things in their favor, even if it does look wrong. Sometimes people can spin something in so many directions that they make it sound right and correct. That is the thing with sin, you can try to spin it in many different ways, but in the end it is still sin. If you think about the spider who spins his web, that is the just like the enemy trying to trap us in sin with his spinning of evil things to make them look good. The nice thing about this passage in the Old Testament, it shows there is hope to those who can avoid the spin.
21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the LORD. Isaiah 59:21
While we may not live in Old Testament times like in this Isaiah passage, we can still avoid the spin and rely on our Lord's spirit, because He is always here.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Fantastic Friday #309- Finished
Finished
29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:29-30
Do you find yourself asking if this or that finished? Do you look forward to the work week being finished? Have you ever sat down and thought about what being finished actually means? We are never quite finished with what is going on in our lives, except for one thing. Christ finished what we could not do as human beings and finished God's plan of covering our sins with His son's sacrifice. So, take a moment and look at starting something for God and not focusing so much on us. God's plan has already been finished and we need to focus on finishing our race to get back to our Father and not finishing the little things. Look around and see where you can start to have an influence on others.
Have a great weekend.
29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:29-30
Do you find yourself asking if this or that finished? Do you look forward to the work week being finished? Have you ever sat down and thought about what being finished actually means? We are never quite finished with what is going on in our lives, except for one thing. Christ finished what we could not do as human beings and finished God's plan of covering our sins with His son's sacrifice. So, take a moment and look at starting something for God and not focusing so much on us. God's plan has already been finished and we need to focus on finishing our race to get back to our Father and not finishing the little things. Look around and see where you can start to have an influence on others.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Fantastic Friday #308 - Lift
Lift
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. Psalm 3:3-4
Did you need a lift this week? Do you have those days when you feel like all the weight is on your shoulders, pushing you down so you don't feel like getting up to do anything? All of us need that little lift every now and then or even a huge lift due to the enemies schemes. Look carefully at these two verses. Our Lord is a shield of protection around us to keep the enemy from pressing down on us, and making us feel like no one can help us. Our Lord has the ultimate strength and ability to lift us up from anything that is attempting to hold us down. How does that happen? We just have to ask, and He will answer. I hope this Lifts you up, but don't rely on me, rely on Him. The Lifter of all.
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. Psalm 3:3-4
Did you need a lift this week? Do you have those days when you feel like all the weight is on your shoulders, pushing you down so you don't feel like getting up to do anything? All of us need that little lift every now and then or even a huge lift due to the enemies schemes. Look carefully at these two verses. Our Lord is a shield of protection around us to keep the enemy from pressing down on us, and making us feel like no one can help us. Our Lord has the ultimate strength and ability to lift us up from anything that is attempting to hold us down. How does that happen? We just have to ask, and He will answer. I hope this Lifts you up, but don't rely on me, rely on Him. The Lifter of all.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Fantastic Friday #307- Quite
Quite
14 I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. 15 Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:14-16
Language is a funny thing. Do you ever think of the words that you use and what they actually mean? I was going to finish reading that, but I am not "quite" finished. I was going to make it, but something "quite" unexpected happened to me. I am not "quite" prepared to take that test or present that project tomorrow. When you look at the word "quite", it really means completely, wholly, or entirely. How prepared are you? The scripture states "because of the grace God gave me." This is a reminder that I know I am "quite" ready for what He has next for me, are you? When we commit our lives to God, he gives you the tools to "quite" boldly do His work. So take a moment to remind yourself that God made you for who you need to be. Quite Amazing.
Have a great weekend.
14 I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. 15 Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:14-16
Language is a funny thing. Do you ever think of the words that you use and what they actually mean? I was going to finish reading that, but I am not "quite" finished. I was going to make it, but something "quite" unexpected happened to me. I am not "quite" prepared to take that test or present that project tomorrow. When you look at the word "quite", it really means completely, wholly, or entirely. How prepared are you? The scripture states "because of the grace God gave me." This is a reminder that I know I am "quite" ready for what He has next for me, are you? When we commit our lives to God, he gives you the tools to "quite" boldly do His work. So take a moment to remind yourself that God made you for who you need to be. Quite Amazing.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Fantastic Friday #306- Speaking
Speaking
14 For God does speak—now one way, now another—
though no one perceives it.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on people
as they slumber in their beds,
16 he may speak in their ears
and terrify them with warnings,
17 to turn them from wrongdoing
and keep them from pride,
18 to preserve them from the pit,
their lives from perishing by the sword. Job 33:14-18
Can you think back this week to when God was speaking to you? God doesn't speak the way He did during Old Testament times, so we must be careful to listen. God uses the Holy Spirit and takes many moments to get His point across to us. One big way that God speaks to us is through experiences where we have to rely on Him. I learned a big lesson this week about God's faithful protection. The flesh side of me had doubt and a real lack of faith that He would protect this situation that we were dealing with as a family. Some 24 hours later He showed Himself and once again made me wonder why I even questioned His faithfulness. We have to remember that God speaks to us and we need to listen, because He is our Father and He is faithful.
Have a great weekend.
14 For God does speak—now one way, now another—
though no one perceives it.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on people
as they slumber in their beds,
16 he may speak in their ears
and terrify them with warnings,
17 to turn them from wrongdoing
and keep them from pride,
18 to preserve them from the pit,
their lives from perishing by the sword. Job 33:14-18
Can you think back this week to when God was speaking to you? God doesn't speak the way He did during Old Testament times, so we must be careful to listen. God uses the Holy Spirit and takes many moments to get His point across to us. One big way that God speaks to us is through experiences where we have to rely on Him. I learned a big lesson this week about God's faithful protection. The flesh side of me had doubt and a real lack of faith that He would protect this situation that we were dealing with as a family. Some 24 hours later He showed Himself and once again made me wonder why I even questioned His faithfulness. We have to remember that God speaks to us and we need to listen, because He is our Father and He is faithful.
Have a great weekend.
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