Fantastic Friday #761 - Servant

Servant

4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5 “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,”[a] bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory. Hebrews 3:4-6

Have you thought about being a servant to someone else? I don't have a huge servant's heart, but I am beginning to learn what it is like to serve others, sometimes without the thanks. That is where the problem is, and my view is skewed. A true servant should never search for anything in return but should serve faithfully those that God has placed before you. We should also remember that as we are serving those others, we are serving God. I need to pray for more of a servant's heart and less of a desiring heart.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #760 - Giving

Giving

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Epehsians 5:15-20

I am not going to talk about giving in this season of our lives, I am going to talk about giving thanks to our Father in Heaven. Every day we can find ourselves trapped in the world of living unwise, thinking of how we can get and not what we can give. We all live different lives, have different roles and jobs, but how many of us stop down to give thanks to our Father in Heaven for what He has given us? Instead we shuffle around wondering what is next for us, what new toy we can get, where our next meal is coming from or how we can get ahead of that person that seems always to be out in front. We need to pause our giving, not actual giving, but giving in to the enemy and begin to thank God for everything in our life. Once we start living a life of gratefulness, our eyes will be opened to what we truly have, and what we can look forward to. In this season of giving, give thanks to our Lord and Savior first.

Have a great weekend.



Matt

Fantastic Friday #759 - Drift

Drift

We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. Hebrews 2:1-4

Do you find that you drift from time to time where you lose your focus with what you are working on? When you drift, your mind wanders and the attentiveness you had is suddenly lost in whatever you begin to think about. Have you ever had someone just say a phrase or a word and then you are just gone? Like orange and white stripes, what immediately comes to mind? That's right, you are probably thinking about a Whataburger right now or maybe a Taquito. The same thing occurs when the enemy drops something in your lap to pull you away from God and what he wants for us. The great thing about God is that He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit and if we listen to the Spirit, these distractions can be minimized if not completely forced away. Keep in mind the enemy is always lurking and we can escape the clutches of the enemy if we stay focused and don't drift.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #758 - Separate

Separate

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Either way you pronounce the word, whether it is a short a or a long a, the word separate can still be applied daily. In these last days, we are seeing the fruit of the enemy impacting people and their lives. How many of us see people focused on money as the most important aspect of their lives, where they focus on the pleasures of this world rather than the pleasures of God? Don't get me wrong, God wants us to enjoy our time together here and all the earth offers, but what He doesn't want is the focus of our lives to be on the things of the world. He wants us to separate our lives from people who chase the things of this world. He also does not want us following things that separate us from Him. Keep this in mind when the hate and lack of self-control of those around you start to creep into your life, focus on walking with God and what He wants us to avoid. Don't be a lover of yourself, but a lover of others.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #757 - Petition

Petition

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4

How many of us have petitioned a leader for something? Maybe you wrote your elected representatives or senators, presented in front of the school board, addressed your Elder Board, pleaded with a Pastor or even spoke at your city council meetings. Whatever it was that you petitioned for, you had a strong desire to make a change, and the change was typically driven by something you didn't like, or something someone did that impacted you negatively. In this world of elections in the U.S. democracy, we are given the opportunity to choose someone who we think can do the job well. How do politics and God's word cross? Well, God very explicitly in this set of verses tells us that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving should be made for all people. He didn't say "some people" or only your "family members", He said "all" people. He also clarified who that was to include and that was "kings and all those in authority", and I would say this even includes our elected officials. Whether you are on one side of a political party or another, we all need to remember that these candidates are included in the "all people" category and God wants all people to be saved and come to an understanding of Him. So take a moment to pray for the leaders of your country, because whether you voted for them or not, God can guide these leaders through our prayers.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #756 - Redemption

Redemption

13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14

Redemption, the act of atoning for a fault or mistake, that is what the dictionary says. However, redemption has a much deeper meaning than just that, especially when we may be atoning for something daily, which could be something you do or say about someone else. To have redemption through God' Son, Jesus Christ, gives us not just forgiveness, but it also rescues us from an eternity of darkness. Just because he has rescued us doesn't mean we don't have a role to play, when you put the preceding verses with the above two key verses, you get the full picture.

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 9a-12

We don't always pay attention to what we need to do to obtain this free gift of redemption, because we are all tied up into our own things that supposedly make us happy. If we stop and remove the vices and disobedient practices from our lives, then bearing fruit becomes much easier and we don't have to spend all our time atoning for mistakes we make because out of that fruit comes a joy that glorifies our father.

Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #755 - Malice

Malice

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32

As I was reading this scripture this week, I thought how much this fits within the time we are living in now. Don't get me wrong, malice has always been around because the enemy is very influential on earth, but the level of anger and rage that we see daily is continuing to grow. We can all sit back on our high horses and in our houses including groups of friends and say, you know that is such a small percentage of people in the world, there are more good things out there than bad things. So let me ask you a question, how many of you experienced a feeling of bitterness or even slight anger towards someone this week. I know that I have felt a bit of frustration which can lead to bitterness and anger, and if we allow those small moments of bitterness to creep in, this will only cause us to be able to slip into those moments of anger more easily, which could eventually lead to malice. It is a pretty simple directive from God, and if you take a moment to step back and be kind instead of bitter, you can be the change that influences the world around you. So, take this challenge this week, wave at people when you pass them, say hello to complete and total strangers, hold the door for people you don't even know, and don't forget to ask God to guide you through these turbulent times. Get rid of the things that drag us down, you can find those in verse 31.

Have a great weekend.

Matt