Fantastic Friday #890 - Place

Place

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Psalm 84:1-3

Do you find yourself wondering about your place in life? This week I was sitting on my back porch watching a mother and father bluebird feeding their young in our birdhouse. They would come back regularly with a worm or other insect in their mouth, and it reminded me that God cares enough about His creation of birds to have some way to have a new life fed. Stepping back and thinking if God cares enough to provide food and a place for a bird, think about how much more He cares about us and what He has provided us. Everyone has a place and it is important to recognize that God has given us this place. It is also important to remember to thank God for our place and what He has provided and continue to strengthen that relationship with our Father in Heaven.

Have a great day.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #889 - Work

Work


10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. Hebrews 6:10-12


What do you think of as work? Your job away from home, your job at home, your job at school, or your job of raising a family. All of these are work, but the true work that we probably should take a closer look at is the work of the Lord. What work does He want us to do? He wants us to bring more individuals who are lost to Him, but how? Everyone has their own personal gifts, some of evangelism, some of teaching and others of encouragement. One thing is true and all of these gifts, they all lead a path to the Lord. For the simplest of things of telling or showing about God and His plan for us, we are working. We are working not for our own salvation, but the salvation of others. When we see that we don't have to work for ourselves, but for other's rewards, it makes it seem a little less like work. Take a moment and think how you can do the Lord's work through simple acts that could lead to a huge reward, not for you, but for those you work for daily.

Have a great weekend.


Matt

Fantastic Friday #888 - Forgive

Forgive

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” Matthew 18: 21-22;35

Do you feel that forgiveness is hard? It might be someone who you regularly have issues with, and they continue to make your life quite difficult. They might be that person that is constantly making your life miserable by doing things that impact your success or your plans. When Jesus was asked how many times to forgive, He was pretty clear how many times we should forgive someone, so how do we balance what Jesus says vs. our personal feelings toward a difficult individual. I think it all boils down to our true forgiveness of that person, and what that can do for our soul. When you truly forgive someone, there is a burden that is lifted and you can see that person as God sees them. The more you pray and forgive that person from your heart, the more the weight that person puts on you is lifted. We need to remember that God has the power to bring relief to you for your challenges, as long as you prayerfully forgive.


Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #887 - Sliver

Sliver


14 He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night.
15 He split the rocks in the wilderness
and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag
and made water flow down like rivers. Psalm 78:14-16



One morning this week on my drive, the clouds were forming an interesting view of the sun coming up. There was this little sliver in the clouds that the sun was peeking through making an amazing light show for morning sunrise. It reminded me of how God guided the Israelites in their escape from Egypt with His own light show, but what it also reminded me of was God's neverending giving. We can daily look at our work and tasks and think that we have it all under control, then something spins on its head and the next thing you know we are underwater, or it feels like it. Do we stop down when this happens and pray for God to guide us or assist us with our day, or do we think that we can regain control of our day on our own. I guarantee the more we try to do things on our own, the more we are going to be buried. The simple task of turning to God will allow Him to create that sliver that can give us an abundance of courage, passion and guidance to do our jobs and life well. For in reality, is it not doing our life well what we all want? Just like God split the rocks and provided abundance, He can do the same for you through the smallest sliver. All we have to do is ask and focus on the slivers of presence of our Lord and Savior.


Have a great weekend.


Matt

Fantastic Friday #886 - Intersect

Intersect

15 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
No, they have no shame at all;
they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
they will be brought down when I punish them,”
says the Lord.

16 This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 I appointed watchmen over you and said,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But you said, ‘We will not listen.’ Jeremiah 6:15-17



Do you ever sit and think where your life intersects with God? With all the roads we travel in our life, there are times where the road I take is no longer parallel with God and His teachings. It is usually a rough road, not paved and smooth, with lots of obstacles to overcome, and certainly no signs for direction. It can typically travel a further distance away from God, where the path to come back sometimes looks too great. The path to come back to God is never too great, but the path could be bumpy along the way. When we travel parallel with God with a smoother road, fewer obstacles and definite signage, there is a clearer path and often that road will merge with God and what He wants for our lives. The intersection between the road God wants us to travel and what the world wants us to venture down are two different paths, and while I fall short, the road to God is a much better choice for me. Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #885 - Enter

Enter

4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. John 3:4-6

This week I attended a funeral of a colleague who died suddenly at the age of 38. Way too young for someone. I heard during the service mentioned a few times of him entering the pearly gates, entering Heaven, entering the room to be beside Jesus. It really got me thinking about how people that pass from this life and enter another, but not all who pass from this life will enter Heaven. I wonder what makes people think that they can get into Heaven without truly accepting our Lord and Savior, and why does God want some people so young. I wondered what the non-believers, including many muslims felt at this funeral service where the clear path was laid out by the speaker so eloquently about Jesus' love for us and the only path for eternal life. The enemy works to pull us away from God's promise. What is given to us is God's gift to enter Heaven as long as we accept Jesus as our personal Savior. It is a simple step, but a more challenging step to follow Him throughout our days so that we can Enter the next life with confidence in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Don't enter the space where the lies and doubt the enemy spouts draw us away, but focus on our exit and entry from this world to the next.


Have a great weekend.

Matt

Fantastic Friday #884 - Freedom

Freedom

16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. 17 Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. 2 Peter 2:16-17

Freedom has an interesting connotation these days. In American culture, we were brought up on the values our country was formed on, including freedom of religion. The people who came to America didn't have this freedom in most cases, to practice what they wished. There are also other freedoms we experience that others around the world do not, including speaking against oppressive governments or ideals that we don't agree with. But, we also as human beings have the freedom of choice, to choose the path we will follow. Choices can be hard at times, because of the pressures of those around us, and what society tells us to choose. Having freedom lets us make the best decision for our personal path, and this freedom should not be taken lightly. We should not use this freedom to choose sinful ways at times and the righteous way at another. We need to remember that God expects us to freely choose in a way that is respectful and loving, and we should not judge others for their freedom of choice. We don't have to like what other people freely choose, but we have to respect that they have that choice. Live freely but choose a path to freedom that is righteous.

Have a great weekend.

Matt