I generally write on things that I experience without going into to much detail about myself. My attempt to be direct, without preaching. Through my life experiences, I attempt to give what guidance I may. So that you may not make the mistakes I have or may be comforted in knowing the truth. Sometimes it is alright to be angry, its alright to grieve to mourn. To be happy when others are not, to have peace when the world may seem to be tearing itself apart. Our peace our joy does not come from what we see, or the bad news we have just gotten, but comes through the "TRUTH" of our Savior. The words He has spoken to us comfort us soothe our aching hearts &; give us joy when it seems as though there should be none to be found. We are not perfect, and its alright. But when we fail we must not sit in our self pity long. Our failure is just another opportunity to start again. With a renewed zeal in Christs purposes, to be about our Fathers business. The road we walk friends is not to be easy, but a hard one. One marked with trials and tribulations. Doing right is not always popular, and when your excited with what your Savior has shewn you and no one else seems to care. You may then realize, it to may even be lonely. We do not live to ourselves, our life is one of service, a life lived for another...Christ left us an example. To love without being loved, to give without expecting return, to be mistreated without seeking vengeance. When even your christian friends think you strange...take comfort in these words..."Rom 8:31-39 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." You have not been called to be like everyone else...Just A Thought
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
My times are in thy hand
How often has trial, & tribulation knocked on the door of our lives and we think it a curse. When things stray from the course we have set in our mind, when our plans go askew; woe is us. God forbid things do not go according to plan. But what happens when a tragedy occurs, when the worse we can conceive happens to us, when Tragedy itself stands on our doorstep.
Our Faith crumbles, the Heavens themselves close and become as brass. God himself seems as though He has gone far away. What do we do? How can our good God allow these things to happen to “US” ? When things are going right God is great~! When all things are going as planned, life is Peachy. But life being as it is, things happen~! There’s even a T-shirt quote that says it very well, but I won’t repeat that here. The life that we live is lived by expectations. The set of expectations that we have, in a sense govern our lives. They mold and shape us, the dictate to us where our children will go to school, where we will work, what we will wear, who we let into our lives, & even who we will marry. The thing is when these “Expectations” are unmet we lose it, some worse than others, and that’s on a small scale. When disaster looms or tragedy knocks, the blood drains from are faces & we become as deer in head lights.
Why do bad things happen to “Good” people ? Why when bad things happen to those good
people they act as if the proverbial rug has been yanked right from under them? Why do the
heavens seem as brass and their God is miles away if not gone altogether? These are all things
that we will all deal with to some extent or other in our Christian walk. What we have in
common are not the specific events, but the same God. Be that as it may, I know that “HE”
Himself has a set of “Expectations” for us as well. Such as to trust in Him.
Mat 6:30-34 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is,
and to- morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
The sovereignty of God touches “All” and His rule is subject to no one. We have such
trouble with bad things happening to us “Good” people. It’s even taught to some extent that
bad things will not happen, and if they do it is because of a lack of faith on our part. Take
Job who was not only righteous, but God boasted of him to Satan. When hearing of the boast
Satan put it to a challenge before God. Whom resolutely took it with faith in his servant Job.
Why? Because Jobs faith was set on God and Him alone, not on possessions or the works of his
own two hands, but instead stood resolutely on the shoulders of Gods’ promises.
Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
You have to just read Job 1:12-22 to see the reaction we ought to give when tragedy knocks.
So then why don’t we respond this way when we receive this kind of news? I believe it is
because we either do not trust in Gods’ word or we do not know His word. Our Lord is never far when tragedy occurs. In Job we read how God has
a hedge round about Job and nothing was able to touch him without the permission of God. That is a beautiful thing, our God is Big~! He set the stars in place called them all by name,
“Yet” has numbered every hair on my head, it is a hard and majestic thing I don’t understand it
but I believe it. Psa 139:5-6 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
So often when tragedy is presented we only see one face, but it is not the only face He would have us see. Instead of a curse let us rejoice as in response to what paul says in Romans 8:28 For we know all things work together for the good of those who love Christ, to them who are the called according to His purpose.....Just a thought
Our Faith crumbles, the Heavens themselves close and become as brass. God himself seems as though He has gone far away. What do we do? How can our good God allow these things to happen to “US” ? When things are going right God is great~! When all things are going as planned, life is Peachy. But life being as it is, things happen~! There’s even a T-shirt quote that says it very well, but I won’t repeat that here. The life that we live is lived by expectations. The set of expectations that we have, in a sense govern our lives. They mold and shape us, the dictate to us where our children will go to school, where we will work, what we will wear, who we let into our lives, & even who we will marry. The thing is when these “Expectations” are unmet we lose it, some worse than others, and that’s on a small scale. When disaster looms or tragedy knocks, the blood drains from are faces & we become as deer in head lights.
Why do bad things happen to “Good” people ? Why when bad things happen to those good
people they act as if the proverbial rug has been yanked right from under them? Why do the
heavens seem as brass and their God is miles away if not gone altogether? These are all things
that we will all deal with to some extent or other in our Christian walk. What we have in
common are not the specific events, but the same God. Be that as it may, I know that “HE”
Himself has a set of “Expectations” for us as well. Such as to trust in Him.
Mat 6:30-34 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is,
and to- morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
The sovereignty of God touches “All” and His rule is subject to no one. We have such
trouble with bad things happening to us “Good” people. It’s even taught to some extent that
bad things will not happen, and if they do it is because of a lack of faith on our part. Take
Job who was not only righteous, but God boasted of him to Satan. When hearing of the boast
Satan put it to a challenge before God. Whom resolutely took it with faith in his servant Job.
Why? Because Jobs faith was set on God and Him alone, not on possessions or the works of his
own two hands, but instead stood resolutely on the shoulders of Gods’ promises.
Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
You have to just read Job 1:12-22 to see the reaction we ought to give when tragedy knocks.
So then why don’t we respond this way when we receive this kind of news? I believe it is
because we either do not trust in Gods’ word or we do not know His word. Our Lord is never far when tragedy occurs. In Job we read how God has
a hedge round about Job and nothing was able to touch him without the permission of God. That is a beautiful thing, our God is Big~! He set the stars in place called them all by name,
“Yet” has numbered every hair on my head, it is a hard and majestic thing I don’t understand it
but I believe it. Psa 139:5-6 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
So often when tragedy is presented we only see one face, but it is not the only face He would have us see. Instead of a curse let us rejoice as in response to what paul says in Romans 8:28 For we know all things work together for the good of those who love Christ, to them who are the called according to His purpose.....Just a thought
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Giving Up?
Giving in, but not giving up? Ever feel like just throwing in the towel, but just not quite ready to give in....Been beat down so often that when you see the bully you start to pull out the money, but for some reason you put it back, standing yet once again defiant in the face of certain bodily punishment. Why do we stand yet again after we have fallen so many times before. When they stand and say Ah Hah, the moment we trip or stumble. It may seem as the whole world is waiting for it. Why don't we just quit, give up, concede? What is it that keeps us from laying on our backs, keeps us from throwing in the towel and saying "DAMN IT" I give up..!
Psa 37:24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. That urge to just press on, to get back up JUST ONE MORE TIME....a still small voice that comforts you saying "I will never leave you nor forsake you". When we as parents see our children fall we often times rush over to help them up, but sometimes we stand back watching them wait for us to rush over and fix things. When we do not immediately make our presence known we can watch their reaction change from that of expectation to one of fear. Where is Dad, Mom ? How am I going to get back up, but after thrashing about a bit they realize they have a little pair of legs and hands that are quite effectively able to right them. We often have to let them thrash about a bit that they learn something they would have otherwise never learned. It is not that we left them, but we left them to let them learn. We never really went any where, in reality we were there the whole time. But as far as they were concerned we were miles away. It may seem like that when times are rough. When we are at our bleakest moments it may seem just like Christ has left us, that our Lord is no longer concerned with our well being. The reality could not be any further from the truth.
So many of the things that come to our lives door step, we have invited. It's not as though God sent them...though He does at times send hardships or trials our way that we may learn. But much more often its a self wrought invitation signed by our own Foolishness, not Ignorance that would imply we didn't know better. We did, we do....so many of the things that bring and have brought hardship we knew not to do...or we didn't seek counsel from our Lord before hand when we knew to. All the same it was avoidable. So what do we do since it was by our asking that misfortune knocks? Simply giving up is always an option....For some, but not for us. God's Word says "Pro 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again:" So why do we keep pushing on when it seems that everyone around us says "Why don't you just curse God and die !" Well ....It is so much easier to push on when you have some one their cheering, whispering songs of encouragement making it all....well for lack of a better word OK. Paul says it so much more elegant than I do...."Rom 8:31-39 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." ......Just A Thought
Psa 37:24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. That urge to just press on, to get back up JUST ONE MORE TIME....a still small voice that comforts you saying "I will never leave you nor forsake you". When we as parents see our children fall we often times rush over to help them up, but sometimes we stand back watching them wait for us to rush over and fix things. When we do not immediately make our presence known we can watch their reaction change from that of expectation to one of fear. Where is Dad, Mom ? How am I going to get back up, but after thrashing about a bit they realize they have a little pair of legs and hands that are quite effectively able to right them. We often have to let them thrash about a bit that they learn something they would have otherwise never learned. It is not that we left them, but we left them to let them learn. We never really went any where, in reality we were there the whole time. But as far as they were concerned we were miles away. It may seem like that when times are rough. When we are at our bleakest moments it may seem just like Christ has left us, that our Lord is no longer concerned with our well being. The reality could not be any further from the truth.
So many of the things that come to our lives door step, we have invited. It's not as though God sent them...though He does at times send hardships or trials our way that we may learn. But much more often its a self wrought invitation signed by our own Foolishness, not Ignorance that would imply we didn't know better. We did, we do....so many of the things that bring and have brought hardship we knew not to do...or we didn't seek counsel from our Lord before hand when we knew to. All the same it was avoidable. So what do we do since it was by our asking that misfortune knocks? Simply giving up is always an option....For some, but not for us. God's Word says "Pro 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again:" So why do we keep pushing on when it seems that everyone around us says "Why don't you just curse God and die !" Well ....It is so much easier to push on when you have some one their cheering, whispering songs of encouragement making it all....well for lack of a better word OK. Paul says it so much more elegant than I do...."Rom 8:31-39 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." ......Just A Thought
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