It must have been a dark time…the era Jesus was born into. Close to 500 years passed from what was written in the book of Malachi and the beginning of the New Testament. The people of Israel are no longer sovereign and haven’t been for hundreds of years. Sure, the temple has been rebuilt, but it is much smaller and the religion of Israel had become deeply politicized. The people of Israel had, on one side, a “brood of vipers” governing their moral lives and on the other side they were being passed around from being the captives of one nation to another. Their identity was lost and hope seemed far, far away. Why then, of all times, did God choose to come to Earth?
In reading through the Old Testament lately I have seen God moving in mighty ways in the lives of ordinary men. These men, although flawed, were about resting in God’s righteousness over their own. Men like Gideon, David, Abraham, and Joseph are just a few examples. These men were men of “unclean lips” and yet God used them. They were men, like any other man, but they sought out God with all their heart. When they wavered, or when they rested in their own righteousness, that’s when bad things happened. Unfortunately, it almost seemed like, for these men and the people of the time, staying righteous was an uphill battle. You see, these men all failed God at various times in their lives. They started out well, but as time went on, they made more errors. Now these men were holy men, men of God, but it seems that the trend was that man was…hopelessly lost. Indeed that was the case. God knew that what we needed was a savior. As humans we just didn’t have it in us to be able to stay on the straight and narrow. They/we needed a savior. I can almost feel the hopelessness as I think back on that. The men, the leaders whom the Israelites looked up to…kept failing them and failing God. It makes sense then that the cry of the nation was for God to bring about their deliverer. Rich Mullins captured their cry so well:
“Joseph took his wife and her child, and they went to Africa
To escape the rage of a deadly king
There along the banks of the Nile, Jesus listened to the song
That the captive children used to sing
They were singin'
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
He will never break His promise - He has written it upon the sky
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by”
There was an air of hopelessness, but yet there in the midst of it all was a glimmer of hope in their cry to God. He heard their cries and brought forth their…OUR savior. Jesus stepped off His throne to be born, to live, to die. Our deliverer is coming…our deliverer CAME and He is still with us. We don’t have to rely on ourselves, because we now have God in us. The Holy Spirit now dwells in us. We don’t have to worry about the uphill battle because Jesus is our Emmanuel our God with us.
So, to answer the question why God chose to come down to us, to be born when He did…well…I don’t know. What I do know is that is fits in EXACTLY to His divine plan. God’s timing is perfect. Although we don’t have the answers now, it will all make sense in the end. What we do know is that Jesus was born…born to a virgin, He was born in a stable because there was no room at the inn, shepherds kept watch, and multitudes of angels praised God saying "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." This birth literally split the calendar in two and this child grew up, was/is God walking amongst us, was betrayed, put on trial, tortured, brutally crucified, died and then three days later He rose from the dead victorious. He did this for you and for me. So although I don’t know why God chose to come when He did, I sure am thankful that He did come when He did. I have life now and do not have to fear eternal death. This is God’s gift to you as well…if you’ll receive it. Merry Christmas to all and God Bless!
I close with this:
O Holy Night
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!
Fall on your knees,
O hear the angels' voices!
O night divine,
O night when Christ was born
O night divine,
O night divine,
O night divine!
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our Friend!
He knows our need; to our weakness is no stranger.
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!
His power and glory evermore proclaim!
His power and glory evermore proclaim!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
So, Yeah…There’s a Battle Going On
Yes, you read that right! If you didn’t know, there’s a war going on around us. Sure, it LOOKS peaceful outside. I mean, right now we aren’t dodging bullets or hiding for our lives, but there IS a battle raging on. This war carries on all around us, daily. It isn’t a war we can see, but be assured, the enemy is there. The older I get, the more aware I become of these things. I see just how easy it is for me to get distracted and just how easy it is to let the enemy in. You see, the enemy hasn’t been forceful; in fact, the enemy has been quite the opposite. The enemy has a subtle way about himself, but being aware of this is enough to get my blood boiling. I’ve seen much loss in my life, much pain, much sorrow simply because I wasn’t paying attention, I wasn’t prepared. No more. As Michael Buffer puts it “ladies and gentlemen….let’s get ready to rumble!!!”
I’ve been reading through the book of 1 Samuel and let me tell you, if you didn’t realize there was a war going on, you need to read 1 Samuel. Sure, this is a historical account from the Old Testament, but every single day I’ve found something incredibly applicable in reading through Samuel. This was a time where the enemy was on all sides of Israel. War seems to be a central theme to this book, or at least one of the central themes. The Israelites fiercely battled the Philistines on many occasions. Back then, the custom for the Israelites was to take the Ark with them into battle. The Ark was the very presence of God. Throughout the Old Testament it seemed that anytime the Israelites would bring the Ark into battle, they would be victorious. With God for us, who can be against us? God will always be victorious. That was lesson number one for me in reading through 1 Samuel.
The second lesson of war I learned was something dealing a little more with how subtle the enemy truly is. In 1 Samuel 21, David is fleeing for his life from Saul who wants to kill him. He flees to Gath, looking for some kind of refuge. Gath was a Philistine city and the Philistines were no ally to the Israelites.
1 Samuel 21: 10-15
“That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, ‘Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one they sing about in their dances:
'Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands’?’
David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, ‘Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house’?”
David was looking for safety. He was running for his life, and his run led him right into the presence of his enemy. Now the enemy was all to welcoming to David. Their mindset was any enemy of my enemy is my friend. That is indeed the mindset of the enemy of our souls. The enemy wants our attention and wants our focus. The enemy desires us to be an enemy to God. David realized that his enemies were all too welcoming to him and, although they welcomed him in, they intended to do him harm. This is why he acted like a madman so that he could escape. So it should be with us. We should be very aware that the enemy wants our attention, but at the same time the enemy is here only to steal, kill and destroy.
I’ve seen this so much in my life and the lives of others. When times get tough, and sometimes when times are great, it is so easy to feel like we are running for our lives. We look for safety. The only true safety we will ever find is in the presence of the Lord. No matter what the enemy says, he is our enemy for a reason. The enemy does not desire to see us prosper. How then do we combat against such an enemy, how then do we prepare for war? I’m glad you asked…
Ephesians 6:10-18
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
Be prepared. That’s what this Eagle Scout says to you…be prepared because “the safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” God will fight the battle for you and He’s even equipped us with protection. He’s equipped us with both defensive and offensive weapons. He wants us to be aware that there is indeed a battle going on around us. Don’t be discouraged, but rather be encouraged that God is on our side. He desires our hearts. Let Jesus Christ be your shepherd and walk with the Lord. Life won’t be easy, but it will be rewarding and you will be victorious in the end because…well, I have a spoiler for you. I know how it all ends…and Jesus is VICTORIOUS over the evil one, over our enemy. Know this, you aren’t alone. God is with you and He loves you. He wants to see you prosper and grow, He wants to see you be victorious.
I’ve been reading through the book of 1 Samuel and let me tell you, if you didn’t realize there was a war going on, you need to read 1 Samuel. Sure, this is a historical account from the Old Testament, but every single day I’ve found something incredibly applicable in reading through Samuel. This was a time where the enemy was on all sides of Israel. War seems to be a central theme to this book, or at least one of the central themes. The Israelites fiercely battled the Philistines on many occasions. Back then, the custom for the Israelites was to take the Ark with them into battle. The Ark was the very presence of God. Throughout the Old Testament it seemed that anytime the Israelites would bring the Ark into battle, they would be victorious. With God for us, who can be against us? God will always be victorious. That was lesson number one for me in reading through 1 Samuel.
The second lesson of war I learned was something dealing a little more with how subtle the enemy truly is. In 1 Samuel 21, David is fleeing for his life from Saul who wants to kill him. He flees to Gath, looking for some kind of refuge. Gath was a Philistine city and the Philistines were no ally to the Israelites.
1 Samuel 21: 10-15
“That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, ‘Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one they sing about in their dances:
'Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands’?’
David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, ‘Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house’?”
David was looking for safety. He was running for his life, and his run led him right into the presence of his enemy. Now the enemy was all to welcoming to David. Their mindset was any enemy of my enemy is my friend. That is indeed the mindset of the enemy of our souls. The enemy wants our attention and wants our focus. The enemy desires us to be an enemy to God. David realized that his enemies were all too welcoming to him and, although they welcomed him in, they intended to do him harm. This is why he acted like a madman so that he could escape. So it should be with us. We should be very aware that the enemy wants our attention, but at the same time the enemy is here only to steal, kill and destroy.
I’ve seen this so much in my life and the lives of others. When times get tough, and sometimes when times are great, it is so easy to feel like we are running for our lives. We look for safety. The only true safety we will ever find is in the presence of the Lord. No matter what the enemy says, he is our enemy for a reason. The enemy does not desire to see us prosper. How then do we combat against such an enemy, how then do we prepare for war? I’m glad you asked…
Ephesians 6:10-18
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
Be prepared. That’s what this Eagle Scout says to you…be prepared because “the safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” God will fight the battle for you and He’s even equipped us with protection. He’s equipped us with both defensive and offensive weapons. He wants us to be aware that there is indeed a battle going on around us. Don’t be discouraged, but rather be encouraged that God is on our side. He desires our hearts. Let Jesus Christ be your shepherd and walk with the Lord. Life won’t be easy, but it will be rewarding and you will be victorious in the end because…well, I have a spoiler for you. I know how it all ends…and Jesus is VICTORIOUS over the evil one, over our enemy. Know this, you aren’t alone. God is with you and He loves you. He wants to see you prosper and grow, He wants to see you be victorious.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Taking Dangerous Roads
So something struck me as I sat in traffic on 635 yesterday…and no, I it wasn’t another car, although I figure the odds are in favor of that happening eventually on this road. No what struck me is how incredibly dangerous 635 is. I think my chances of safety are better in a dark alley on the wrong side of town than driving on 635. So there I sat, in traffic, for the second time in three days (the other day having been Sunday in which I did not touch 635) watching the sign on the side of the road flashing “Traffic accident ahead.” I am fairly certain that the stretch of 635 between the Central Expressway and I-35 is one of America’s top accident prone roadways. Only a few days before, on my way to my company Christmas party, did I sit in my car for an hour while the freeway was shut down. It’s starting to become an expectation with me…travel 635 at your own peril. Of course I could take another route, but there is none as direct at driving on 635. So as I sat in my car, it dawned on me how often we take dangerous roads, whether we do so because we have to or because we choose to. Either way, dangerous roads are a part of life.
As I sat there and let that truth marinate for a while, I realized that the Bible is full of stories about roads, some dangerous, some narrow, some where transformations take place. It is very obvious that there is significance in this. We travel dangerous roads daily. It may be sin that is the danger, it could be true physical danger, it could be emotional, spiritual, etc…, but we do in fact travel dangerous roads. Now this isn’t to invoke fear or cause doubt or sorrow, but this is to make you, to make everyone aware that our safety is in the Lord, not traveling down the road of life. Too many times we put our trust and faith in the road we are on. We pop it in cruise control and our mind drifts off. Distractions come about and the next thing we know, we are off course or worse yet, we’ve encountered destruction. God wants our focus to be on Him and Him alone. In my realization of this I recalled a story that I have always found to be incredible. The people of Israel were being led out of Egypt and towards the Promised Land by Moses. On this road the people of Israel began to lose their focus on the Lord. Instead they complained and grumbled. Because of this, God sent poisonous snakes and many people died. Destruction had come to the people of Israel because they had lost their focus. I want you to read this though, and see what He does. Amazing…
Numbers 21:4-9
“They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!’
Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people.
The LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.”
To the Jews, the snake on a pole symbolized a defeated serpent, but the significance of this story isn’t fully realized until Jesus says this in John. John 3:14-15: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” Wow. The people stared at the symbol that was meant to symbolize Christ’s death on the cross and they lived. You see on these dangerous roads in life, it is so very easy to lose sight and at times we encounter our own personal destruction, but God’s desire for us is spelled out clearly in the Gospel. If we set our sights on Jesus He will guide us through and keep us safe. He is our cloud by day and our fire by night. He desires to walk us through these tough times, hand in hand, and at times He lifts us up and carries us. I don’t know about you, but that may just be the BEST news I’ve heard.
I can say that it feels like my life is nothing but dangerous road after dangerous road. It feels like all I do is duck and dodge one calamity after another, but as I sat there in traffic on that cold, foggy December evening I realized something. I realized that my focus needs to be on the cross. No matter the weather, no matter the road, no matter the circumstances, my focus must be on Jesus. Life can be trying at times, but God isn’t going anywhere. Contrary to Nietzsche God is most definitely NOT dead. He is very much alive and His desire is to make that known by His Spirit through Christ alone. No matter the trials, no matter the danger of the road, Jesus is there. Let these words remind you that Jesus is there with you. John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” There is no one greater to put my faith in than the One who has overcome the world.
As I sat there and let that truth marinate for a while, I realized that the Bible is full of stories about roads, some dangerous, some narrow, some where transformations take place. It is very obvious that there is significance in this. We travel dangerous roads daily. It may be sin that is the danger, it could be true physical danger, it could be emotional, spiritual, etc…, but we do in fact travel dangerous roads. Now this isn’t to invoke fear or cause doubt or sorrow, but this is to make you, to make everyone aware that our safety is in the Lord, not traveling down the road of life. Too many times we put our trust and faith in the road we are on. We pop it in cruise control and our mind drifts off. Distractions come about and the next thing we know, we are off course or worse yet, we’ve encountered destruction. God wants our focus to be on Him and Him alone. In my realization of this I recalled a story that I have always found to be incredible. The people of Israel were being led out of Egypt and towards the Promised Land by Moses. On this road the people of Israel began to lose their focus on the Lord. Instead they complained and grumbled. Because of this, God sent poisonous snakes and many people died. Destruction had come to the people of Israel because they had lost their focus. I want you to read this though, and see what He does. Amazing…
Numbers 21:4-9
“They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!’
Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people.
The LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.”
To the Jews, the snake on a pole symbolized a defeated serpent, but the significance of this story isn’t fully realized until Jesus says this in John. John 3:14-15: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” Wow. The people stared at the symbol that was meant to symbolize Christ’s death on the cross and they lived. You see on these dangerous roads in life, it is so very easy to lose sight and at times we encounter our own personal destruction, but God’s desire for us is spelled out clearly in the Gospel. If we set our sights on Jesus He will guide us through and keep us safe. He is our cloud by day and our fire by night. He desires to walk us through these tough times, hand in hand, and at times He lifts us up and carries us. I don’t know about you, but that may just be the BEST news I’ve heard.
I can say that it feels like my life is nothing but dangerous road after dangerous road. It feels like all I do is duck and dodge one calamity after another, but as I sat there in traffic on that cold, foggy December evening I realized something. I realized that my focus needs to be on the cross. No matter the weather, no matter the road, no matter the circumstances, my focus must be on Jesus. Life can be trying at times, but God isn’t going anywhere. Contrary to Nietzsche God is most definitely NOT dead. He is very much alive and His desire is to make that known by His Spirit through Christ alone. No matter the trials, no matter the danger of the road, Jesus is there. Let these words remind you that Jesus is there with you. John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” There is no one greater to put my faith in than the One who has overcome the world.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Amazing Grace
Have you ever had one of THOSE days? I’m talking about those days where about halfway through it you realize how you should have stayed in bed. Yeah…THOSE days. Well, we all have those days. It’s just kind of a part of life. I am not trying to be a pessimist or trying to be antagonistic, but I am trying to be realistic. Plus I know there isn’t a person reading this who can honestly say they haven’t had one of those days. Well, I recently had one of those days. I think I knew it would be like that when the alarm went off and my first reaction was to throw the blankets over my head and groan. I knew it would be one of those days where I needed grace.
I woke up and did my normal thing all day long, but the problem was that all day long it felt like I was going through the motions. I wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary, wasn’t really…living. My day was, using the greatest adjective that comes to mind…blah. It was just a “blah” kind of day. As the day wore on it truly felt like there wasn’t much that would go right. I ran into roadblock after roadblock at work, which compounded my already increasing stress from traffic on the way in to work, and then to make matters worse, rather than relying on God to be my source of peace, my source of hope…well…I decided to push forward on my own…only frustrating me spiritually. It wasn’t till I sat down and truly reflected on what I had read that morning that I realized that the Lord was calling me to rely on Him for peace…and had been all day. This particular morning I read 1 Samuel 2:1-11 and I realized just how much I needed that on this particular day. You see, this little section in 1 Samuel is called “Hannah’s Prayer.” Hannah prayed this prayer as she celebrated what the Lord had done.
Hannah was a woman of faith. If you haven’t read about her or about her faith, I highly recommend it. She was Samuel’s mother, but that’s not the full story. She was also barren. She wasn’t able to have children, and in fact is says “the Lord had closed her womb.” She didn’t let this major inconvenience hold her back. She knew in her heart what she wanted and she knew in her heart the Lord’s will for her life. She prayed earnestly, “O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” 1 Sam. 1:11. Wow…wow… I want THAT faith…to look at the impossible and say “nope, that’s not impossible!” Not only did God hear her cry and gave her a son, but He blessed her and she had many children. In fact later on it says “the Lord was gracious to Hannah” when he blessed her with more children. God’s grace granted Hannah the “cry” of her heart and He went above and beyond. Now THAT’s grace!
After taking some time to let all this settle in I realized that I still struggle with the clichéd term “let go and let God!” Yeah, it can be a hard thing to do, but at the same time, what a blessing when He hears you. As this hit me on my drive home from a tough day I just worshipped the Lord. No matter how bad a day can be, God is bigger. No matter how tough a season can be, God is greater. No matter how insurmountable an obstacle may seem, God is bigger. I chose to let traffic, and stress, and life, and finances get in the way of what kind of day the Lord wanted for me. I was overlooking the peace, and hope, and grace He offers every second, every minute. So yeah, when it hit me, all I could do was worship. I am so thankful that I saw Him in the midst of a bad day…because the story doesn’t end there. See, this whole thing is about grace for me. I was desperately in need of it on my incredibly stressful and bad day. Well, wouldn’t you know…God had a nice dose of grace just waiting for me. I was driving on a road that I’ve never driven on before, near my apartment and it was dark. I will admit, I wasn’t paying attention to the posted speed limit. So as I was driving down this dark, unfamiliar road I saw these headlights very close to me and I thought “hmmm..why are they on my tail” but those questions were erased when the red and blue lights flicked on. I knew for sure that I was about to get my first speeding ticket. I was going 50 in a 35. There was NO way I was getting out of this. I just sat and prayed to God that the police officer would show me some grace. After about ten minutes and a good talk, he let me off with a warning. You know something, God is great and His grace is amazing.
So many times we sit back and we try to let all the crud just affect us. I do it all the time. Why? Why do I do this when God is calling out to me? He desires to show His children love. Yes, sometimes that means justice, but most of the time is means grace. God shows His love to us time and time again when He gives us things we definitely don’t deserve and don’t make sense. I have a great job, a great apartment, great health, great friends, an incredible girlfriend, and a loving family. If these people and these things aren’t evidence of God’s grace in my life, then I don’t know what is, and the sad thing is that I so often overlook it all because I want to focus on the negative. Very often I want to be like Alexander and huff and puff about my “Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” but at the same time God is saying “lay it at my feet, let it go, and in my you’ll find peace.” He desires grace for you and for me. I am so very thankful that I had this bad day and that He showed Himself to me in the midst of this. This particular day was a very teachable day and I am thankful He opened my eyes so that I could see and learn.
I believe the psalmist discusses grace and protection very well in Psalm 121.
“I raise my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip
your protector will not slumber.
Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.
The Lord protects you. The Lord is a shelter right by your side.
The sun will not strike you by day or the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all harm;
He will protect your life.
The Lord will protect your coming and going,
both now and forever.”
God’s desire is grace for us, all we have to do is “raise our eyes” to know where our true help comes from. Grace is still a mystery to me, or rather, I still find it difficult to grasp. Incredible, marvelous, astounding, astonishing, wonderful, miraculous, inconceivable, amazing grace…I am not sure I will ever “get” it while I am here on this earth, but oh how sweet it is, how sweet it is.
I woke up and did my normal thing all day long, but the problem was that all day long it felt like I was going through the motions. I wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary, wasn’t really…living. My day was, using the greatest adjective that comes to mind…blah. It was just a “blah” kind of day. As the day wore on it truly felt like there wasn’t much that would go right. I ran into roadblock after roadblock at work, which compounded my already increasing stress from traffic on the way in to work, and then to make matters worse, rather than relying on God to be my source of peace, my source of hope…well…I decided to push forward on my own…only frustrating me spiritually. It wasn’t till I sat down and truly reflected on what I had read that morning that I realized that the Lord was calling me to rely on Him for peace…and had been all day. This particular morning I read 1 Samuel 2:1-11 and I realized just how much I needed that on this particular day. You see, this little section in 1 Samuel is called “Hannah’s Prayer.” Hannah prayed this prayer as she celebrated what the Lord had done.
Hannah was a woman of faith. If you haven’t read about her or about her faith, I highly recommend it. She was Samuel’s mother, but that’s not the full story. She was also barren. She wasn’t able to have children, and in fact is says “the Lord had closed her womb.” She didn’t let this major inconvenience hold her back. She knew in her heart what she wanted and she knew in her heart the Lord’s will for her life. She prayed earnestly, “O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” 1 Sam. 1:11. Wow…wow… I want THAT faith…to look at the impossible and say “nope, that’s not impossible!” Not only did God hear her cry and gave her a son, but He blessed her and she had many children. In fact later on it says “the Lord was gracious to Hannah” when he blessed her with more children. God’s grace granted Hannah the “cry” of her heart and He went above and beyond. Now THAT’s grace!
After taking some time to let all this settle in I realized that I still struggle with the clichéd term “let go and let God!” Yeah, it can be a hard thing to do, but at the same time, what a blessing when He hears you. As this hit me on my drive home from a tough day I just worshipped the Lord. No matter how bad a day can be, God is bigger. No matter how tough a season can be, God is greater. No matter how insurmountable an obstacle may seem, God is bigger. I chose to let traffic, and stress, and life, and finances get in the way of what kind of day the Lord wanted for me. I was overlooking the peace, and hope, and grace He offers every second, every minute. So yeah, when it hit me, all I could do was worship. I am so thankful that I saw Him in the midst of a bad day…because the story doesn’t end there. See, this whole thing is about grace for me. I was desperately in need of it on my incredibly stressful and bad day. Well, wouldn’t you know…God had a nice dose of grace just waiting for me. I was driving on a road that I’ve never driven on before, near my apartment and it was dark. I will admit, I wasn’t paying attention to the posted speed limit. So as I was driving down this dark, unfamiliar road I saw these headlights very close to me and I thought “hmmm..why are they on my tail” but those questions were erased when the red and blue lights flicked on. I knew for sure that I was about to get my first speeding ticket. I was going 50 in a 35. There was NO way I was getting out of this. I just sat and prayed to God that the police officer would show me some grace. After about ten minutes and a good talk, he let me off with a warning. You know something, God is great and His grace is amazing.
So many times we sit back and we try to let all the crud just affect us. I do it all the time. Why? Why do I do this when God is calling out to me? He desires to show His children love. Yes, sometimes that means justice, but most of the time is means grace. God shows His love to us time and time again when He gives us things we definitely don’t deserve and don’t make sense. I have a great job, a great apartment, great health, great friends, an incredible girlfriend, and a loving family. If these people and these things aren’t evidence of God’s grace in my life, then I don’t know what is, and the sad thing is that I so often overlook it all because I want to focus on the negative. Very often I want to be like Alexander and huff and puff about my “Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” but at the same time God is saying “lay it at my feet, let it go, and in my you’ll find peace.” He desires grace for you and for me. I am so very thankful that I had this bad day and that He showed Himself to me in the midst of this. This particular day was a very teachable day and I am thankful He opened my eyes so that I could see and learn.
I believe the psalmist discusses grace and protection very well in Psalm 121.
“I raise my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip
your protector will not slumber.
Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.
The Lord protects you. The Lord is a shelter right by your side.
The sun will not strike you by day or the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all harm;
He will protect your life.
The Lord will protect your coming and going,
both now and forever.”
God’s desire is grace for us, all we have to do is “raise our eyes” to know where our true help comes from. Grace is still a mystery to me, or rather, I still find it difficult to grasp. Incredible, marvelous, astounding, astonishing, wonderful, miraculous, inconceivable, amazing grace…I am not sure I will ever “get” it while I am here on this earth, but oh how sweet it is, how sweet it is.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Welcome back Kotter …er…Justin
Well I want to say that it’s GREAT to be back to writing. I will be back on the series of finding your purpose soon. I’ve taken a long (too long) break from writing, but I’ve actually had a chance to see God move in my life and it’s given me some insight into finding my/our purpose. So let me say that I have personally been affected by faith and patience and that when I do get back to the series it will come directly from my heart and from my experience.
First of all, let’s just give a little update on what has been going on in my life in the last two and a half months… Ok, so the last time I wrote was about at the end of April. Things were starting to change at about that time, big changes. It was at the end of April that a good friend of mine told me about a job opportunity in North Texas. I was excited and frightened out of my mind to go for this job. Aside from college, I’ve lived in Houston all my life. Yes, I travel and yes I’ve been far away from home, but leaving home…well that was something new to me. I applied and over the course of a month the company and I met via phone, email, and finally face to face. It was a perfect fit and over that month God really did a work in me to prepare me. He opened my eyes and showed me that living isn’t living if you’re afraid to move. Helen Keller so eloquently put it like this: “Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”
The next big thing to happen was an incredible trip to California. It just so happened that the trip occurred right after my final day of work at my previous company and two weeks before my new job (and city) would begin. California was life changing for me. I met some great people who helped me along the way. I’ve compared life to a hiking trail before, and it still holds true. I was hiking up, well, climbing would be a great way to put it too, but hiking up to summit Half Dome when I met some awesome people who allowed me to hike with them the rest of the way. And you know, that was a God blessed thing because as Justin’s luck or whatever would have it, once I reached the summit of Half Dome I dropped my camera and broke it. Fortunately my new friends were gracious enough to take pictures and then email them to me. That’s how it is in life. We meet special people that may help us get through a season or may help us for a moment, but they leave a lasting impact. Well, this hike affected me spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Spiritually I had to rely on the Lord to get through this hike. I turned back three times before I heard a small voice telling me it would be ok…more on the spiritual part later. Emotionally I broke down on this hike. I wept as I thought about leaving my home, my family, my friends behind and moving to a new city. Yes, I had friends…well, I have Shaun and Angie…heck the whole McClain family which is my second family so yeah, but still, I was leaving familiarity for something not familiar. And it also broke my heart to leave my niece. I’ve seen her grow from coming home from the hospital to a beautiful 6 and a half year old. So that WAS HARD!! Physically, I was exhausted. I probably burned about 10,000 calories that day and, even though I was eating along the trail, I nearly passed out in Yosemite Village after the hike. That night I slept through three text messages and a phone call and woke up 14 hours later. The rest of the trip was amazing. After Half Dome I felt closer to God. I felt as if we’d connected intimately. I journaled the day before Half Dome that I was giving my life (well, of course), but specifically I was giving God my finances, my job, my future, and my romantic life (future girlfriend/spouse) to the Lord. Let’s just say this…it’s paid off in huge, HUGE dividends. I went to Napa and Sonoma Valley after leaving Yosemite and it was a chance to unwind and just enjoy myself. I’ve laughed more, smiled more, and have generally just enjoyed life more since my trip. I don’t fear being alone, as evidenced by eating in some pretty swanky places in Napa all by my lonesome. I enjoyed it and in a way, I don’t think this trip could have been what it was if I hadn’t been alone.
God truly blessed that and He’s blessed my faith and courage through both the move to Dallas and the trip to California. I look back over the last year or so and I see that what God has been doing in me is preparing me for this changed. A year ago I would not have considered Dallas as an option and I thoroughly enjoyed my control over the certain areas I specifically gave to God. Once I released these things and gave them to God, He opened the floodgates of blessing. I have an incredible job and I know that this is the place He wants me to be at. I have an incredibly blessed life and that’s not to brag, but instead it’s to tell a tale of how God took me from a situation that spelled gloom and doom for me and He delivered me from it. I haven’t experienced joy like I am experiencing now. He’s taken every area I specifically prayed for and released and He’s blessed me in all those areas…that’s right all of ‘em. ;) Again, it’s not to brag, but to just tell a tale that if we are to be purposeful people we have to be willing to move forward in faith, be patient, and let God handle it. I’ve been here in Dallas three weeks and it feels right, well…it is right…and this past Sunday…well…I know what it means now to wait patiently on Him and He will bless you in ways that you can’t ever imagine. This is exactly where I am supposed to be, and there’s nothing better than being right where God wants you. So lean on the Lord and listen to His voice as it calls you. Don’t put your faith in yourself, put in the Most Holy God, the Savior Jesus Christ and embrace the rich and blessed life He has in store for you.
Proverbs 3:5-12 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in."
So that’s what’s been up! I am glad to be back to writing and am looking forward to pouring myself out on paper (well, ok, the Internet…whatever) as well as looking forward to giving you some personal life updates in the future.
First of all, let’s just give a little update on what has been going on in my life in the last two and a half months… Ok, so the last time I wrote was about at the end of April. Things were starting to change at about that time, big changes. It was at the end of April that a good friend of mine told me about a job opportunity in North Texas. I was excited and frightened out of my mind to go for this job. Aside from college, I’ve lived in Houston all my life. Yes, I travel and yes I’ve been far away from home, but leaving home…well that was something new to me. I applied and over the course of a month the company and I met via phone, email, and finally face to face. It was a perfect fit and over that month God really did a work in me to prepare me. He opened my eyes and showed me that living isn’t living if you’re afraid to move. Helen Keller so eloquently put it like this: “Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”
The next big thing to happen was an incredible trip to California. It just so happened that the trip occurred right after my final day of work at my previous company and two weeks before my new job (and city) would begin. California was life changing for me. I met some great people who helped me along the way. I’ve compared life to a hiking trail before, and it still holds true. I was hiking up, well, climbing would be a great way to put it too, but hiking up to summit Half Dome when I met some awesome people who allowed me to hike with them the rest of the way. And you know, that was a God blessed thing because as Justin’s luck or whatever would have it, once I reached the summit of Half Dome I dropped my camera and broke it. Fortunately my new friends were gracious enough to take pictures and then email them to me. That’s how it is in life. We meet special people that may help us get through a season or may help us for a moment, but they leave a lasting impact. Well, this hike affected me spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Spiritually I had to rely on the Lord to get through this hike. I turned back three times before I heard a small voice telling me it would be ok…more on the spiritual part later. Emotionally I broke down on this hike. I wept as I thought about leaving my home, my family, my friends behind and moving to a new city. Yes, I had friends…well, I have Shaun and Angie…heck the whole McClain family which is my second family so yeah, but still, I was leaving familiarity for something not familiar. And it also broke my heart to leave my niece. I’ve seen her grow from coming home from the hospital to a beautiful 6 and a half year old. So that WAS HARD!! Physically, I was exhausted. I probably burned about 10,000 calories that day and, even though I was eating along the trail, I nearly passed out in Yosemite Village after the hike. That night I slept through three text messages and a phone call and woke up 14 hours later. The rest of the trip was amazing. After Half Dome I felt closer to God. I felt as if we’d connected intimately. I journaled the day before Half Dome that I was giving my life (well, of course), but specifically I was giving God my finances, my job, my future, and my romantic life (future girlfriend/spouse) to the Lord. Let’s just say this…it’s paid off in huge, HUGE dividends. I went to Napa and Sonoma Valley after leaving Yosemite and it was a chance to unwind and just enjoy myself. I’ve laughed more, smiled more, and have generally just enjoyed life more since my trip. I don’t fear being alone, as evidenced by eating in some pretty swanky places in Napa all by my lonesome. I enjoyed it and in a way, I don’t think this trip could have been what it was if I hadn’t been alone.
God truly blessed that and He’s blessed my faith and courage through both the move to Dallas and the trip to California. I look back over the last year or so and I see that what God has been doing in me is preparing me for this changed. A year ago I would not have considered Dallas as an option and I thoroughly enjoyed my control over the certain areas I specifically gave to God. Once I released these things and gave them to God, He opened the floodgates of blessing. I have an incredible job and I know that this is the place He wants me to be at. I have an incredibly blessed life and that’s not to brag, but instead it’s to tell a tale of how God took me from a situation that spelled gloom and doom for me and He delivered me from it. I haven’t experienced joy like I am experiencing now. He’s taken every area I specifically prayed for and released and He’s blessed me in all those areas…that’s right all of ‘em. ;) Again, it’s not to brag, but to just tell a tale that if we are to be purposeful people we have to be willing to move forward in faith, be patient, and let God handle it. I’ve been here in Dallas three weeks and it feels right, well…it is right…and this past Sunday…well…I know what it means now to wait patiently on Him and He will bless you in ways that you can’t ever imagine. This is exactly where I am supposed to be, and there’s nothing better than being right where God wants you. So lean on the Lord and listen to His voice as it calls you. Don’t put your faith in yourself, put in the Most Holy God, the Savior Jesus Christ and embrace the rich and blessed life He has in store for you.
Proverbs 3:5-12 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in."
So that’s what’s been up! I am glad to be back to writing and am looking forward to pouring myself out on paper (well, ok, the Internet…whatever) as well as looking forward to giving you some personal life updates in the future.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
I am alive!!!
I just wanted to post an update. Internet connectivity, cell phone reception, etc... is fairly crummy where I am. So with this little window of time I wanted to say that I survived both rafting and my Half Dome summit. My camera bit the dust when I dropped it and broke it on Half Dome, but that's ok. I will get a new one and I made some great new friends while hiking. Earl (one of the people I met) took some pictures of my on top of Half Dome and using the cables coming back down. The hike was incredible and it truly tested me physically, mentally, and spiritually. In fact I think I see something incredible that God is doing in me and in my life on this trip. He is making all things new. Last year when I went to Colorado He helped me refocus my life on Him and on Christ. Through that trip I was able to shave off the crap and truly be the man God wanted me to be. Now this trip...well this trip is about making a new life. I've met some incredible people on this trip...one in particular, I have a new job and city to go to when I get back, I have a new outlook on things, my attitude and my health are renewed. The list goes on, but what I see is God's hand moving in my life. He refocused me a year ago to prepare me for the loss I would endure, but also for the new things, people, places, relationships He would bring me. Thank you God for making all things new.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
A Blog Long Overdue
Ok, so I have wrestled with writing this particular blog. As you can tell I have been a bit negligent in my blogging over the past month. That has everything to do with the subject at hand. I feel that once I get this out there then I will be able to get back to “Finding Our Purpose.” This is a very personal and sensitive subject to me, but I do feel like I would be lying through omission if I didn’t come out and say it.
Ok, so here goes…I recently went through a rough divorce. The fault doesn’t fall on any one person to be honest. I would be unfair if I laid blame on anyone else, but myself. Now, I know that it takes two people for things like this to happen, but examining myself I learned that I wasn’t being the man of God I needed to be which led to strife and fighting within the marriage. Upon separating a year ago I vowed to grow closer to God, to have Him do a work in me and make me the man He intended me to be. I thought that in doing so He would reconcile things and restore my marriage. This, obviously, did not happen, but something did happen in me.
You see, God did a work in me that I can’t really put into words, but I’ll try anyway. I realized that I had grown comfortable with life. I was in a rut in the worst way. What God did was remove me from a place of comfort and He placed me in the wilderness. I was either going to die doing this myself or I was going to go through this journey with Him as my guide.
Psalm 23
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
The Psalmist pretty much sums up my daily prayer for almost a year and sums up the journey I took. See, early on in this separation/divorce I was angry. The fear/comfort/anger/etc… that had built up in the marriage spilled over into my personal life. Spiritually I was a mess, emotionally I was a wreck, and physically…well…the 45-50 pounds I lost during that time weren’t ALL from working out. The downward spiral I had begun during my marriage had carried over and I was now in a freefall.
I am not sure what it was, but I had a moment of peace just long enough to hear the Spirit calling me into the wild. After about a month and a half tailspin I let it go. I let go of the things holding me back. That’s not saying I gave up on the marriage, on the contrary, I realized to restore something lost I would have to allow God to restore me. So I planned a trip to the quiet wilderness of the majestic mountains in Colorado. It would be a time in which I would undergo intense physical, emotional, and spiritual trials. I would have to push myself. I went on this trip as a man who didn’t know what the future would hold. I went on this trip as a man who was unsure of himself, unsure of his purpose in life, a man with intense fears and a man who had grown complacent in life. I went into the mountains as this man, but I emerged as someone entirely different.
You see, the Lord stripped away all my fears and chipped at the rough edges that I had allowed to become part of me. I know that the change occurred there in the Rocky Mountains. It was evident. Spiritually, emotionally, and physically I was different. The joy that was always there, but hidden due to my blindness, was back in plain sight. I went from a man of fear and insecurity to a man of faith, reliance upon the Lord, and a man full of the Spirit. Now I don’t say this to brag, but on the rather I say to point out God’s faithfulness. What I have seen occur in myself over the past year has been nothing short of astounding. I laugh more, I live more, I fear less, I trust the Lord more, and the list goes on. My life was radically changed during this trip into the wilderness.
Unfortunately for the marriage, my change didn’t come soon enough. I have had a number of Godly men tell me this: “Justin, we are sad that this happened, but we are excited to see God’s plan and new direction for your life.” At first I was dumbfounded by this. Why would anyone see excitement in divorce, but as time has passed I am finally seeing what these men were saying. Divorce isn’t really the point here. It happened, it’s sad, but it’s time to move on. The point being made here is that there is a new direction that my life is heading. This new direction is one that God is in the process of guiding me through. He is in full control and I am thankful for that. I am a new man, a REAL man, an exciting man, and man of faith and I am now moving down a path that the Lord is guiding me down.
From this loss is coming a greater blessing. It is like a forest fire. The fire raged through and destroyed all in its path, but from the ashes a more fertile forest is growing. And that, my friends, is the point of this blog. I am not in any way saying that divorce is a good thing, but I am saying that from bad things can come blessings. I am already seeing these seeds sprout in my life and I am excited about these things. I am blessed to have so many people in my life that have been there for me, have prayed for me, and have lifted my head up when I didn’t have strength to do it myself. Thank you all who have been a part of this process. Words cannot express just how much you all mean to me. I love you all. If you have questions, please feel free to ask me. Call me, email me, etc…, but don’t hesitate. It is no longer a difficult subject. It has become part of my story and I feel like God has given me this experience to share with others.
The story of my life, my legacy, is still being written. Praise the Lord for that. This past weekend opened my eyes to quite a few things. The next chapter of my life is already looking interesting and I can’t wait to explore it, to experience it, and to share it with you all. Those who are in the know…know what I am talking about…and those who aren’t…well, stay tuned.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Finding Our Purpose: Relying on the Lord
There is a key element to resting in the Lord that tends to make all the difference between truly resting in the Lord and just taking a break. That component is reliance on God. What does it really mean to rely on God? I have struggled with this for quite some time. My general feeling on it has been that relying on God would mean that I have some sort of defect or that I am incapable of living this life on my own. Well, to be quite honest, it isn’t really a defect, it is the way we were created. We are indeed incapable of doing this on our own. We were created to rely on our Holy God. We all have a God shaped hole in our lives. Some of us fill it with work, friends, hobbies, food, drinks, exercise, busyness, etc…, but the main thing to understand here is that we all do it. If we aren’t relying on God we are relying on other things to be our “god.” It’s all a matter of where the heart is.
Like a child who is too small to care for itself, we are in a way the same as that child. Now, we are not helpless or mindless robots, but we are all at a point where we do rely on something or someone to help us. God created me and you to rely upon Him like a child relies on his/her parents to provide. A child relies on a parent to sustain them, shelter, protect, and guide, but mostly a child puts their trust in the parent/parents. God is our sustainer. When Jesus was preparing for his death he promised his followers the Holy Spirit.
John 15:14-21 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
Jesus promises the Holy Spirit will come. The Lord will not leave His children as orphans. This is evidence of God’s protection, of His guidance. The Lord has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Joshua 1:5b “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” In His promises we can rely. We can fully depend on Him to be there for us. In our time of weariness, in the times we need rest, the Lord is there. Always remember that.
One thing we must also keep in mind is that to rely on the Lord is to rest, not on our own abilities, but on His. God is more than able and capable to help you through life so rely on Him to do so. Relying on God is also trusting that while you are at resting in Him, and the world is moving around you, that He will put you back in the race at the right moment. Proverbs 29:25 “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” Do not fear or doubt when you are resting in the Lord. It is at that moment that He is doing a work in you. It is in these times of fear that we try to take the reins, take control. And it is in those times when we seriously need to be relying in Him. Trust that He will keep His word and He will keep you safe. If you want to find your purpose you have to trust that the Lord will indeed keep you safe. We must rely that God will provide a path and will direct our footing. Let Him be your guide.
Relying on the Lord is also relying in your position in Christ. Admittedly, if you are relying on God there is probably a good chance you are a Christ follower. If not, then let me please ask that you consider your roll in His kingdom. He desires you; He wants to be the Lord of your life. He loves you enough that Christ made the ultimate sacrifice and paid for our sins upon that cross, to a point of death. Understand that this is the perspective from which I speak. If you don’t know Christ as your savior, let me encourage you to do just that. As was mentioned before, there is a God-shaped hole in our life and we can choose to either fill it with Him or with idols. Let me encourage you to pursue the former. And now back to the subject at hand. When you rely in your position in Christ, you realize that it isn’t your own ability to achieve greatness. It isn’t going to be anything you can do to find your purpose. The Lord will have to guide you, and you have to trust in Him to do so. Rely on the Lord to put your life in sync with His Word. How do you do this? Well, I am glad you asked. 1 Thes. 5:16-18 “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” There is an element of faith, of reliance upon God in these words. When times are rough, when the storms of life hit us, we must still be joyful, commit to prayer, and be thankful at all time. Is it hard to do when we feel like the world is moving by us and we are sitting still? It sure is, but rely on the Lord. Is it hard to do that when you are in the midst of a personal crisis? It sure is, but rely on God. He is good. Let me repeat that, He is GOOD!! God will never leave you nor forsake you. If you want to find your purpose and you want to be able to rest in Him then you need to rely on the Lord. Thank God that He is more than able. Knowing that gives me peace that is indescribable.
Like a child who is too small to care for itself, we are in a way the same as that child. Now, we are not helpless or mindless robots, but we are all at a point where we do rely on something or someone to help us. God created me and you to rely upon Him like a child relies on his/her parents to provide. A child relies on a parent to sustain them, shelter, protect, and guide, but mostly a child puts their trust in the parent/parents. God is our sustainer. When Jesus was preparing for his death he promised his followers the Holy Spirit.
John 15:14-21 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
Jesus promises the Holy Spirit will come. The Lord will not leave His children as orphans. This is evidence of God’s protection, of His guidance. The Lord has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Joshua 1:5b “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” In His promises we can rely. We can fully depend on Him to be there for us. In our time of weariness, in the times we need rest, the Lord is there. Always remember that.
One thing we must also keep in mind is that to rely on the Lord is to rest, not on our own abilities, but on His. God is more than able and capable to help you through life so rely on Him to do so. Relying on God is also trusting that while you are at resting in Him, and the world is moving around you, that He will put you back in the race at the right moment. Proverbs 29:25 “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” Do not fear or doubt when you are resting in the Lord. It is at that moment that He is doing a work in you. It is in these times of fear that we try to take the reins, take control. And it is in those times when we seriously need to be relying in Him. Trust that He will keep His word and He will keep you safe. If you want to find your purpose you have to trust that the Lord will indeed keep you safe. We must rely that God will provide a path and will direct our footing. Let Him be your guide.
Relying on the Lord is also relying in your position in Christ. Admittedly, if you are relying on God there is probably a good chance you are a Christ follower. If not, then let me please ask that you consider your roll in His kingdom. He desires you; He wants to be the Lord of your life. He loves you enough that Christ made the ultimate sacrifice and paid for our sins upon that cross, to a point of death. Understand that this is the perspective from which I speak. If you don’t know Christ as your savior, let me encourage you to do just that. As was mentioned before, there is a God-shaped hole in our life and we can choose to either fill it with Him or with idols. Let me encourage you to pursue the former. And now back to the subject at hand. When you rely in your position in Christ, you realize that it isn’t your own ability to achieve greatness. It isn’t going to be anything you can do to find your purpose. The Lord will have to guide you, and you have to trust in Him to do so. Rely on the Lord to put your life in sync with His Word. How do you do this? Well, I am glad you asked. 1 Thes. 5:16-18 “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” There is an element of faith, of reliance upon God in these words. When times are rough, when the storms of life hit us, we must still be joyful, commit to prayer, and be thankful at all time. Is it hard to do when we feel like the world is moving by us and we are sitting still? It sure is, but rely on the Lord. Is it hard to do that when you are in the midst of a personal crisis? It sure is, but rely on God. He is good. Let me repeat that, He is GOOD!! God will never leave you nor forsake you. If you want to find your purpose and you want to be able to rest in Him then you need to rely on the Lord. Thank God that He is more than able. Knowing that gives me peace that is indescribable.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Finding Our Purpose: Resting in Him pt. 4
True rest does not equal sleep. Let me repeat that, true rest does not equal sleep. Sleep does not equal true rest. Both CAN be the same, but are completely independent of each other. The definition of sleep is “to take the rest afforded by a suspension of voluntary bodily functions and the natural suspension, complete or partial, of consciousness; cease being awake.” The difference between sleep and true rest is that sleep comes when the body needs to suspend “voluntary bodily functions…” whereas rest comes when you need a break, when it’s time to get your wits about you. Sleep is when the body can no longer maintain consciousness. I can tell you this, however, that there have been many times where I have needed the rest and sleep and yet when I woke up in the morning, I was still tired. This comes from a lack of rest while sleeping. Typically, at least for me, it comes from my mind and/or my spirit not being truly at rest. In fact I have found that many times those who sleep the most wake up and still need more rest. It is due to the busy nature of the individual and the lack of rest the person gets. I can put myself into this category many, many times. Sleeping is when the body can no longer "go." It is a physical reaction to being tired. Resting in the Lord is a spiritual reaction to a holy God. While sleeping takes faith in that you need to trust Him to keep you safe while you sleep, resting requires a stronger and more active faith in that you have to trust Him while you wait on Him.
You see, true rest and sleep are not the same. We all need sleep for our physical bodies to carry on, but we need rest for so much more. One of the largest acts of faith we can do is to rest. When we rest we trust that in that time of rest God will provide. It means while we aren't going going going, we trust that God is doing doing doing. Rest requires patience. While you sit still, things happen around you. It's then in that time that God will allow you to depend on Him for clarity and vision. I am not a NASCAR fan, but I do know that when a driver’s car is getting worn down, whether it’s fluids or tires, etc…, the driver has to make a pit stop. Does performing a pit stop keep the driver from winning the race? No, it doesn’t. In fact, it is typically the driver who makes the prudent pit stops along the race who wins. Many times we think that we cannot afford the rest because the world will pass us by, and that simply isn’t true. When running the race of life, we have to make the necessary stops for rest or we will burn out and cease to finish the race. Rest allows you to continue. True rest in the Lord allows you to continue forward in discovering and achieving His purpose for your life. It begins with rest and rest will be required along the journey as well.
Hebrews 4:1-13
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,
"So I declared on oath in my anger,
'They shall never enter my rest.'" And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his work." And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest."
It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:
"Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts." For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
We can see in the above text that rest is important. There is no better day to rest than “Today” so don’t let it slip by. Rest, as described above, is an act of trust in the Lord, is an act of patience, an act of obedience, and an act of reliance upon God. As was referenced in an earlier blog, Jesus slept on the boat as he and the disciples crossed the lake. Was he tired, yes, but his ability to sleep wasn't just because he was tired, it was due to his reliance on God to provide. Jesus wasn’t just sleeping because he was tired; he was sleeping because he knew that God was in charge and that the boat would make it to the other side. He relied on the Lord. The storm that had surrounded them was not a concern to Jesus. He simply relied on the Lord. See Mark 4:35-41. You see resting in the Lord requires something...reliance upon Him to sustain us. We have to trust that the Lord is good and is who He claims to be. If you have doubts in His goodness, or doubts that He is who He says He is, then you just won’t be able to do this, but if you truly realize that He has plans for you and that He wants you to prosper then resting in Him may come easier.
Jeremiah 29:11-13
“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
God has plans for you and He wants you to achieve all He has purposed for you, but when you are constantly moving, constantly going you can’t see His plans. Rest is required to see his plans for us. We can push ourselves so hard that the only reaction our body can muster up is sleep, but that isn’t what we need to do. We need to sit back and rest at times. If that means sleep, then by all means, sleep, but there are times when we have to sit back and sit still. It is in those times of rest that God can truly do a work in us. To rest in the Lord we must rely on Him. This is a key cog in finding one's purpose. Stay tuned for the next blog entry: Finding Your Purpose: Relying on the Lord.
You see, true rest and sleep are not the same. We all need sleep for our physical bodies to carry on, but we need rest for so much more. One of the largest acts of faith we can do is to rest. When we rest we trust that in that time of rest God will provide. It means while we aren't going going going, we trust that God is doing doing doing. Rest requires patience. While you sit still, things happen around you. It's then in that time that God will allow you to depend on Him for clarity and vision. I am not a NASCAR fan, but I do know that when a driver’s car is getting worn down, whether it’s fluids or tires, etc…, the driver has to make a pit stop. Does performing a pit stop keep the driver from winning the race? No, it doesn’t. In fact, it is typically the driver who makes the prudent pit stops along the race who wins. Many times we think that we cannot afford the rest because the world will pass us by, and that simply isn’t true. When running the race of life, we have to make the necessary stops for rest or we will burn out and cease to finish the race. Rest allows you to continue. True rest in the Lord allows you to continue forward in discovering and achieving His purpose for your life. It begins with rest and rest will be required along the journey as well.
Hebrews 4:1-13
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,
"So I declared on oath in my anger,
'They shall never enter my rest.'" And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his work." And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest."
It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:
"Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts." For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
We can see in the above text that rest is important. There is no better day to rest than “Today” so don’t let it slip by. Rest, as described above, is an act of trust in the Lord, is an act of patience, an act of obedience, and an act of reliance upon God. As was referenced in an earlier blog, Jesus slept on the boat as he and the disciples crossed the lake. Was he tired, yes, but his ability to sleep wasn't just because he was tired, it was due to his reliance on God to provide. Jesus wasn’t just sleeping because he was tired; he was sleeping because he knew that God was in charge and that the boat would make it to the other side. He relied on the Lord. The storm that had surrounded them was not a concern to Jesus. He simply relied on the Lord. See Mark 4:35-41. You see resting in the Lord requires something...reliance upon Him to sustain us. We have to trust that the Lord is good and is who He claims to be. If you have doubts in His goodness, or doubts that He is who He says He is, then you just won’t be able to do this, but if you truly realize that He has plans for you and that He wants you to prosper then resting in Him may come easier.
Jeremiah 29:11-13
“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
God has plans for you and He wants you to achieve all He has purposed for you, but when you are constantly moving, constantly going you can’t see His plans. Rest is required to see his plans for us. We can push ourselves so hard that the only reaction our body can muster up is sleep, but that isn’t what we need to do. We need to sit back and rest at times. If that means sleep, then by all means, sleep, but there are times when we have to sit back and sit still. It is in those times of rest that God can truly do a work in us. To rest in the Lord we must rely on Him. This is a key cog in finding one's purpose. Stay tuned for the next blog entry: Finding Your Purpose: Relying on the Lord.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Finding Our Purpose: Resting in Him pt.3
I. Am. Tired. Yeah, story of my life. Most likely you can identify with me on that. Rest is a hard thing to come by it seems. I don’t even think it necessarily comes from the day and time we live in, I think it’s that we busy ourselves because we feel like the more we work the more we accomplish. Well, that’s true in a way, but without a purpose all you can accomplish is a whole lotta notta. See, that’s the big point here, we work and work, try and try, go and go, without aim and we exhaust ourselves. Once we exhaust ourselves, we crash for a bit and then pick back up where we left off. It’s a never-ending, insane cycle. So yeah, I am tired, but let me tell you something, I am discovering that there is something to this whole resting in God thing.
When we rest in the Lord, it isn’t because we fall into Him due to exhaustion; although that can and does happen. No, instead we rest in the Lord for Him to give us clarity and guidance. We rest in Him so that we will sit still long enough for Him to put us on the right path, for Him to give us the energy and strength to endure. Resting in the Lord is an action, but it is an action that requires faith. You have to trust that God will get you through whatever the big question mark ahead of you might be. Right now I don’t know really what my purpose is. I can continue to slave crazily and go, go, go, but doing so will not allow me to see what His plan and purpose is. I am tired, but it’s of my own design.
I have been going through an incredible rough patch in my life. I will be open and honest about it for the first time to everyone. In May of 2008, my wife and I separated. After almost four years of marriage, we separated. In the ten months, so far, I have not really taken time for me to rest in the Lord. I wanted to get my mind off of the hurt, pain, and fear and so I decided to just keep pushing myself and in doing so I have gone down many dark paths. The best way for me to describe it is that I have been on a trail, imagine a hiking trail. On this trail I am surrounded my many trees that block me from seeing my destination and at times the trail disappears. I only have to trust that if I stay on this path I will get to my destination, but instead of doing so I keep wandering off the trail. Each time I do so I am met with a roadblock and have to back track to the point where I wandered off the trail. This is how it’s been. Instead of sitting down and getting my bearing, I have tried to force the issue. Instead of sitting down and listening to the Lord, resting in Him, I keep trying to forge ahead. This is God calling to me saying “Justin, sit down, rest in Me and I will give you the proper path.” I am here today on the verge of divorce and I realize that this isn’t His plan, but because of my own stubborn attitude and me trying to do, do, do and go, go, go I am now faced with this horrible reality. The point of me bringing this up isn’t to scare people into thinking they should do what I say, but it is me using my life as an example of what happens when you don’t rest in the Lord. Instead of clinging to Him and letting Him recharge me and give me guidance, I tried to do it myself…and oh what a mess I’ve made.
In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Oh how I wish I had taken this to heart. Oh how I pray dear brothers and sisters that you take this to heart. The Lord wants us to rest in Him. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He longs to hold us in the rough times and if only we’d let Him do so. As I sat last night praying and reading, I came across something that I felt I had to share. It is a snippet from a poem by George Herbert and it reads as follows:
“Away, Despair! My gracious Lord doth hear:
Though winds and waves assault my keel,
He doth preserve it: he doth steer,
Ev'n when the boat seems most to reel:
Storms are the triumph of his art:
Well may he close his eyes, but not his heart."
The point in me bringing this poem up is that life is tumultuous…even on the good days. Life is busy and it can be difficult. God’s desire is for us to rest in Him. When the storm rocked the boat, what was Jesus doing? He was sleeping. It is a wonderful story. This comes from Mark 4:35-41:
“That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don't you care if we drown?’ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’”
Jesus was going to the other side to rest, to escape the noise. On that journey a storm arose and yet he slept. It was the disciples who lacked in faith and so they woke Jesus and he calmed the storm. You see, that is EXACTLY what God wants us to do. He is calling us to escape the noise and the crowds and the busyness so He can do a work in us. Why didn’t I trust Him to guide me through and help me reconcile with my wife? I guess the short answer to that is that I, like the disciples, lacked faith; however I will no longer approach it like this. I want to rest in the Lord. God wants to take my burdens away and place His yoke upon me. He desires me…and you to rest in Him. When we do so He rescues us from the storms of life and He guides us to our purpose. Friends, Rest in Him and He will open your eyes to things that will take your breath away, I have been there and I will be there again…and so will you. God bless each and every one of you.
When we rest in the Lord, it isn’t because we fall into Him due to exhaustion; although that can and does happen. No, instead we rest in the Lord for Him to give us clarity and guidance. We rest in Him so that we will sit still long enough for Him to put us on the right path, for Him to give us the energy and strength to endure. Resting in the Lord is an action, but it is an action that requires faith. You have to trust that God will get you through whatever the big question mark ahead of you might be. Right now I don’t know really what my purpose is. I can continue to slave crazily and go, go, go, but doing so will not allow me to see what His plan and purpose is. I am tired, but it’s of my own design.
I have been going through an incredible rough patch in my life. I will be open and honest about it for the first time to everyone. In May of 2008, my wife and I separated. After almost four years of marriage, we separated. In the ten months, so far, I have not really taken time for me to rest in the Lord. I wanted to get my mind off of the hurt, pain, and fear and so I decided to just keep pushing myself and in doing so I have gone down many dark paths. The best way for me to describe it is that I have been on a trail, imagine a hiking trail. On this trail I am surrounded my many trees that block me from seeing my destination and at times the trail disappears. I only have to trust that if I stay on this path I will get to my destination, but instead of doing so I keep wandering off the trail. Each time I do so I am met with a roadblock and have to back track to the point where I wandered off the trail. This is how it’s been. Instead of sitting down and getting my bearing, I have tried to force the issue. Instead of sitting down and listening to the Lord, resting in Him, I keep trying to forge ahead. This is God calling to me saying “Justin, sit down, rest in Me and I will give you the proper path.” I am here today on the verge of divorce and I realize that this isn’t His plan, but because of my own stubborn attitude and me trying to do, do, do and go, go, go I am now faced with this horrible reality. The point of me bringing this up isn’t to scare people into thinking they should do what I say, but it is me using my life as an example of what happens when you don’t rest in the Lord. Instead of clinging to Him and letting Him recharge me and give me guidance, I tried to do it myself…and oh what a mess I’ve made.
In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Oh how I wish I had taken this to heart. Oh how I pray dear brothers and sisters that you take this to heart. The Lord wants us to rest in Him. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He longs to hold us in the rough times and if only we’d let Him do so. As I sat last night praying and reading, I came across something that I felt I had to share. It is a snippet from a poem by George Herbert and it reads as follows:
“Away, Despair! My gracious Lord doth hear:
Though winds and waves assault my keel,
He doth preserve it: he doth steer,
Ev'n when the boat seems most to reel:
Storms are the triumph of his art:
Well may he close his eyes, but not his heart."
The point in me bringing this poem up is that life is tumultuous…even on the good days. Life is busy and it can be difficult. God’s desire is for us to rest in Him. When the storm rocked the boat, what was Jesus doing? He was sleeping. It is a wonderful story. This comes from Mark 4:35-41:
“That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don't you care if we drown?’ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’”
Jesus was going to the other side to rest, to escape the noise. On that journey a storm arose and yet he slept. It was the disciples who lacked in faith and so they woke Jesus and he calmed the storm. You see, that is EXACTLY what God wants us to do. He is calling us to escape the noise and the crowds and the busyness so He can do a work in us. Why didn’t I trust Him to guide me through and help me reconcile with my wife? I guess the short answer to that is that I, like the disciples, lacked faith; however I will no longer approach it like this. I want to rest in the Lord. God wants to take my burdens away and place His yoke upon me. He desires me…and you to rest in Him. When we do so He rescues us from the storms of life and He guides us to our purpose. Friends, Rest in Him and He will open your eyes to things that will take your breath away, I have been there and I will be there again…and so will you. God bless each and every one of you.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Finding Our Purpose: Resting in Him pt. 2
Ok, ok, so resting in the Lord is harder than it sounds, huh? Yeah, I admit, after writing the last blog I still, for some reason, had a problem taking my advice and resting in Him. Maybe it’s this feeling that if I sit back and rest, I am actually doing nothing. Well, that’s actually the point. Resting in the Lord is basically unloading our burdens, our fears, our shadows, our insecurities, our sins, and our iniquities and placing them at the Father’s feet. There is action in resting. Resting in the Lord isn’t passive, but quite the contrary; it is taking an action of trusting God, of faith in Him, and of unloading your burdens. So before anyone says “I can’t rest…I have too much to do and plus sitting back and doing nothing is not the way I want to do it,” you must realize that this “rest” in the Lord is hard work. The hard work you put into it is actually trusting that God will guide you and help you through whatever it is you need to go through. That’s much harder than any amount of “hard” work.
Resting in the Lord to find your purpose is a hard thing. The term find suggests that YOU are looking for something, but that’s just the issue…God has a purpose for you and it isn’t so much you looking for it as much as it is you waiting for Him to reveal it to you. Resting in the Lord requires patience and faith, which I will admit to you that I lack in both area from time to time, and sometimes at the same time. Resting in Him is a difficult task, but it’s something we were built to do. Too many times we get to a point where we decide that we are going to take the reins of our lives and go from hobby to hobby, job to job, etc… so that we can have the ultimate control, but what we end up finding is that living in such a way leaves us empty and, somehow, scarred. God designed us to rest. Genesis 2:2-3 “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” God’s desire for us is to be like Him. We must take time to rest so that we can spend that time connecting with our Father. It is difficult, if not impossible, to maintain a relationship if you don’t invest in it. So when you aren’t resting in the Lord you aren’t investing in a deeper relationship with Him. If you aren’t in communion with Him, how then can He reveal His greater purpose for your life to you?
We get so busy in our lives, always on the move, always trying new things, always…doing. We aren’t human doings, we are human beings and in that we need to remember to “be.” Psalm 46:10 “’Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’” We must “be” still and trust the Lord. Let me challenge each of you, and myself included, to be still in the Lord. Stop filling your schedule with tasks and hobbies and instead let the Lord move in you. Let Him take the reins for a while and you can rest in Him. In this you will find peace and through this He will show you His purpose for you and me.
Resting in the Lord to find your purpose is a hard thing. The term find suggests that YOU are looking for something, but that’s just the issue…God has a purpose for you and it isn’t so much you looking for it as much as it is you waiting for Him to reveal it to you. Resting in the Lord requires patience and faith, which I will admit to you that I lack in both area from time to time, and sometimes at the same time. Resting in Him is a difficult task, but it’s something we were built to do. Too many times we get to a point where we decide that we are going to take the reins of our lives and go from hobby to hobby, job to job, etc… so that we can have the ultimate control, but what we end up finding is that living in such a way leaves us empty and, somehow, scarred. God designed us to rest. Genesis 2:2-3 “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” God’s desire for us is to be like Him. We must take time to rest so that we can spend that time connecting with our Father. It is difficult, if not impossible, to maintain a relationship if you don’t invest in it. So when you aren’t resting in the Lord you aren’t investing in a deeper relationship with Him. If you aren’t in communion with Him, how then can He reveal His greater purpose for your life to you?
We get so busy in our lives, always on the move, always trying new things, always…doing. We aren’t human doings, we are human beings and in that we need to remember to “be.” Psalm 46:10 “’Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’” We must “be” still and trust the Lord. Let me challenge each of you, and myself included, to be still in the Lord. Stop filling your schedule with tasks and hobbies and instead let the Lord move in you. Let Him take the reins for a while and you can rest in Him. In this you will find peace and through this He will show you His purpose for you and me.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Finding Our Purpose: Resting in Him
So I recently had a breakdown before God. I have been through a tumultuous time recently and rather than taking my issues to God and laying them at the altar, I placed them on myself and tried to handle them with my own hands. It’s amazing what the human soul can bear before it breaks down. I wasn’t able to see that I had placed so much upon myself until I was crumbling into a million little pieces. Even strong men fall when placing the world on their shoulders. We all want to be like Atlas who had the heavens and the Earth placed on his shoulders. We weren’t designed to heap it all upon ourselves. To better illustrate my point I will borrow a line from Above the Golden State’s song, Sound of Your Name:
“The strong man falls to Him who humbles
The plans he made were bound to stumble
And only You remain
Only You remain”
The issue here is that we truly aren’t created to be Atlas. We were created to be strong, but also to depend on God. I failed to see this for a while and as life started to come at me hardcore I snowballed downhill, picking up more and more as I raced downward. I lost sight of what God had in store for me because my mind, my soul, my thoughts, my heart were clouded with the crud I had picked heaped upon myself. So how is it that we are to see our purpose in the midst of trials and tribulations. Well, then answer to that is simple and yet difficult to do…rest in the Lord.
Resting in the Lord requires letting go. That is easier said than done, especially when you feel like things are getting out of your control. It is human nature to clamp down and grab control when things are slipping away, but there has to be a point where we realize we can’t do it on our own. The same goes when we are trying to find our purpose. We can search high and low, attempt this and attempt that, spend a ton of money and time trying to discover what out purpose is, but still walk away empty handed. This is where resting in the Lord comes in to play. Rather than trying to carry our burdens through life, we need to get to a point where we lay them down at His feet so that we may walk through life without the shackles that tie us down. You see, there is an Enemy out there who desires to keep you from fulfilling your God given purpose. The Enemy will hold you back and remind you of all your troubles and faults. In doing so the Enemy can prevent you from seeing what God’s plan is. So how can we overcome this? How can we avoid the Enemy’s traps and fulfill God’s purpose for our life? Rest in Him.
You have to understand that resting in the Lord is not passive, but quite the opposite. It is ceasing from all your selfish desires and struggles to attain the life that you want. Isaiah 45:9 says it this way:
“Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker,
to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
'What are you making?'
Does your work say,
'He has no hands'?”
Woe to him who quarrels with God. Wow. There is action in resting in the Lord. We have to CEASE (which is an action verb) to “quarrel” with God and we have to REST (another action verb) in the Lord. When we cease to struggle with God, we give Him an opportunity to do a work in us. When the Lord works in us He carries His perfect and pleasing will in us. I would rather spend one day in the Lord’s will than a thousand doing my own will. When we submit to God we can truly see Him work out His purpose in our lives and thusly we discover what it is we were CREATED to do.
Philippians 2:12-18 “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.”
God’s desire is for us to rest in Him and lay our burdens at our feet. It is once we do this we can truly let go of the things that hold us back from reaching the prize He’s set aside for us. I know it is easier said than done, trust me I do know this, but it is something that must be done. If you want to shake off the shackles that hold you back, rest in Him who is sufficient. Only then can you begin to see what His purpose is for you.
“The strong man falls to Him who humbles
The plans he made were bound to stumble
And only You remain
Only You remain”
The issue here is that we truly aren’t created to be Atlas. We were created to be strong, but also to depend on God. I failed to see this for a while and as life started to come at me hardcore I snowballed downhill, picking up more and more as I raced downward. I lost sight of what God had in store for me because my mind, my soul, my thoughts, my heart were clouded with the crud I had picked heaped upon myself. So how is it that we are to see our purpose in the midst of trials and tribulations. Well, then answer to that is simple and yet difficult to do…rest in the Lord.
Resting in the Lord requires letting go. That is easier said than done, especially when you feel like things are getting out of your control. It is human nature to clamp down and grab control when things are slipping away, but there has to be a point where we realize we can’t do it on our own. The same goes when we are trying to find our purpose. We can search high and low, attempt this and attempt that, spend a ton of money and time trying to discover what out purpose is, but still walk away empty handed. This is where resting in the Lord comes in to play. Rather than trying to carry our burdens through life, we need to get to a point where we lay them down at His feet so that we may walk through life without the shackles that tie us down. You see, there is an Enemy out there who desires to keep you from fulfilling your God given purpose. The Enemy will hold you back and remind you of all your troubles and faults. In doing so the Enemy can prevent you from seeing what God’s plan is. So how can we overcome this? How can we avoid the Enemy’s traps and fulfill God’s purpose for our life? Rest in Him.
You have to understand that resting in the Lord is not passive, but quite the opposite. It is ceasing from all your selfish desires and struggles to attain the life that you want. Isaiah 45:9 says it this way:
“Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker,
to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
'What are you making?'
Does your work say,
'He has no hands'?”
Woe to him who quarrels with God. Wow. There is action in resting in the Lord. We have to CEASE (which is an action verb) to “quarrel” with God and we have to REST (another action verb) in the Lord. When we cease to struggle with God, we give Him an opportunity to do a work in us. When the Lord works in us He carries His perfect and pleasing will in us. I would rather spend one day in the Lord’s will than a thousand doing my own will. When we submit to God we can truly see Him work out His purpose in our lives and thusly we discover what it is we were CREATED to do.
Philippians 2:12-18 “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.”
God’s desire is for us to rest in Him and lay our burdens at our feet. It is once we do this we can truly let go of the things that hold us back from reaching the prize He’s set aside for us. I know it is easier said than done, trust me I do know this, but it is something that must be done. If you want to shake off the shackles that hold you back, rest in Him who is sufficient. Only then can you begin to see what His purpose is for you.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Finding a Light in a Dark Room
Ok, so I have been gone for a while...or at least gone from blogging. My life has been on an emotional rollercoaster over the last six weeks, actually for the last nine months, but the last six weeks have taken me way up and then way down. I just ask for your prayers there. I won't go into the details other than saying I know God has a plan for me and He is with me in the midst of this, but I am having a difficult time actually seeing Him.
I also do see something coming from this...my purpose. I am struggling with what that is and I am praying hard that God will reveal that to me. It's funny, well maybe ironic or sad to say, but last night I watched LOST and saw one of the beloved characters attempt to hang himself. He was doing so because he has lost his faith and lost his purpose. Now I am not saying that I instantly jumped to the thought of "hey...I should do that" but the thought did cross my mind. I think that's when God really grabbed ahold of me. I felt absolutely hopeless last night, like I just can't go on anymore. This pain I feel is about the most intense pain I have ever felt. My heart is broken in a million pieces, my life looks like it is in shambles, and I feel like I have nothing to show for 28 years of existence. But again, God is in control.
Maybe my first 28 years are a wash and maybe God has some big things in store for me in my next 28 years. I have to hold on to that hope and I have to seek out what it is that He wants me to do. So I am just asking for your prayers. Please pray that God will show me what His purpose is for me. I am having a difficult time seeing it, but I know He's calling me...that much I can feel. Love you all and God bless!
I also do see something coming from this...my purpose. I am struggling with what that is and I am praying hard that God will reveal that to me. It's funny, well maybe ironic or sad to say, but last night I watched LOST and saw one of the beloved characters attempt to hang himself. He was doing so because he has lost his faith and lost his purpose. Now I am not saying that I instantly jumped to the thought of "hey...I should do that" but the thought did cross my mind. I think that's when God really grabbed ahold of me. I felt absolutely hopeless last night, like I just can't go on anymore. This pain I feel is about the most intense pain I have ever felt. My heart is broken in a million pieces, my life looks like it is in shambles, and I feel like I have nothing to show for 28 years of existence. But again, God is in control.
Maybe my first 28 years are a wash and maybe God has some big things in store for me in my next 28 years. I have to hold on to that hope and I have to seek out what it is that He wants me to do. So I am just asking for your prayers. Please pray that God will show me what His purpose is for me. I am having a difficult time seeing it, but I know He's calling me...that much I can feel. Love you all and God bless!
Monday, January 19, 2009
President Barack Obama
I don’t like getting political in my blog…in fact I don’t think I ever have, but since we are here today about to make history, I thought it prudent to bring up politics. President Barack Obama. Two years ago did anyone honestly believe we’d be saying that? I know I didn’t. Heck, I didn’t really even know anything about him. Now we flash forward to today and we as a nation are about to make history. And you know what? I for one am thrilled. President Obama brings something different to the office of President of the United States and after the past forty years…that can’t be a bad thing. No, I didn’t vote for President Obama, but I can tell you this, he’s my President and I stand behind him. So Chavez…you and me…we’ve got some beef.
I was talking to a friend back in October about how important this election was for the nation. For the first time ever we had a legitimate chance at seeing a woman be the President and/or the Vice President. In addition to that milestone, we had Barack Obama. I am proud to say that in my lifetime I was able to witness an African American go from small time candidate to legitimate front runner to President. Just the thought of him taking office swells my chest with pride. His story is the American Dream. He overcame adversity that so many people could never imagine and now he is our President. I don’ care what political affiliation, religion, race, color, creed, or gender you are…you have to admit that January 20, 2009 is a special date. I believe seeing him take office instills hope in all Americans that “yes, it is possible to accomplish great things…no matter who you are or where you come from.”
In addition to President Obama overcoming the odds, let’s look at something I consider to be incredibly important…he doesn’t fit into the typical Washington D.C. mold. That’s a great thing! I had my doubts on whether or not he is a uniter, but from the days after the election till today I have seen a man help heal the divisive wounds. He definitely doesn’t fit into the typical D.C. mold. I am already impressed with the way the nation seems to be coming together and he's assembled one heck of a staff. Again, I didn’t vote for him and I am sure I will disagree with his choices at times, but that’s one of the perks of being an American…you don’t have to agree with the President. I can tell you this; however, I will support my President.
I have to say that he has grown on me. It’s because of this that I am challenging myself to be in prayer for him. He will need it. I can’t imagine the pressure and stress of being the President of the United States. I also want to challenge all those who read this blog, be in prayer for our President. In addition to that, be in prayer for our outgoing President. If ever there was a time to pray for this nation now is the time. We have a chance to see peace, unity, and change come to this nation. It is a great time to be alive here in the United States. God bless this nation and God bless each of you.
I was talking to a friend back in October about how important this election was for the nation. For the first time ever we had a legitimate chance at seeing a woman be the President and/or the Vice President. In addition to that milestone, we had Barack Obama. I am proud to say that in my lifetime I was able to witness an African American go from small time candidate to legitimate front runner to President. Just the thought of him taking office swells my chest with pride. His story is the American Dream. He overcame adversity that so many people could never imagine and now he is our President. I don’ care what political affiliation, religion, race, color, creed, or gender you are…you have to admit that January 20, 2009 is a special date. I believe seeing him take office instills hope in all Americans that “yes, it is possible to accomplish great things…no matter who you are or where you come from.”
In addition to President Obama overcoming the odds, let’s look at something I consider to be incredibly important…he doesn’t fit into the typical Washington D.C. mold. That’s a great thing! I had my doubts on whether or not he is a uniter, but from the days after the election till today I have seen a man help heal the divisive wounds. He definitely doesn’t fit into the typical D.C. mold. I am already impressed with the way the nation seems to be coming together and he's assembled one heck of a staff. Again, I didn’t vote for him and I am sure I will disagree with his choices at times, but that’s one of the perks of being an American…you don’t have to agree with the President. I can tell you this; however, I will support my President.
I have to say that he has grown on me. It’s because of this that I am challenging myself to be in prayer for him. He will need it. I can’t imagine the pressure and stress of being the President of the United States. I also want to challenge all those who read this blog, be in prayer for our President. In addition to that, be in prayer for our outgoing President. If ever there was a time to pray for this nation now is the time. We have a chance to see peace, unity, and change come to this nation. It is a great time to be alive here in the United States. God bless this nation and God bless each of you.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!
It’s funny how little things stick with you over time. It’s those little things that you see, that seem insignificant at the moment, that tend to have a long lasting impact on you. Of course it could just be how my mind works. I seem to always be looking for little signs here and there. It might be because I have watched one too many episodes of Lost, but I personally believe that’s how God hardwired me. I tend to look at nature, whether it’s a sunrise, rainstorm, or bull moose emerging from an alpine stream, and try to hear and see God in that. I personally believe that God speaks through His creation. Luke 19:40 says this “’I tell you,’ he replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’” God uses His creation to speak to us. Whether it’s a talking donkey, and yes…it happened…see Numbers 22:21-41, or rocks crying out, God is all around, working in His creation, talking to us. And that leads me to the point of my rambling. No, a donkey didn’t talk to me, close, but not quite.
About a year ago I was driving up to Dallas from Katy/Houston. I love taking what I lovingly refer to as the “back roads” to get to Dallas. I can’t stand Interstate 45 so I head through the back roads till I get to Highway 6 and take that to I-35 then onward to Dallas, but I digress. My little story comes from an observation I made while on the “back roads.” I was driving on this little two lane farm-to-market road when I saw something profound. On one side of the road there were about ten or so horses moving around in a moderately sized, fenced in area. It wasn’t huge and the horses didn’t seem to have a great deal of room to maneuver about in. On the other side of the road was a lone horse in a fenced in area that seemed to have no end. The lone horse had all the room in the world to gallop, explore, and just enjoy the freedom that the horses across the road did not have. But you see, it wasn’t the size of the horse pen that I noticed, it was what the lone horse was doing that caught my eye. He sat there at the fence along the road, staring at the ten horses across the way. Now let me paint for you the picture of this horse. He stood about as close to the fence as possible so that he might be able to be as close to the other horses as possible. His head was outstretched as far as it could be in an “almost there…almost there” kind of pose. As I continued by I wondered why this horse didn’t just simply turn around and enjoy his freedom. He had all the room in the world to run around. It didn’t click with me until I realized how much I am, how we all are, like this horse.
The lone horse had freedom; he had something the other horses across the way didn’t have. He had room to run around, take a drink from a cool stream, and just be out in the open, but that’s not what he wanted. What he wanted was to be with the other horses. You see the world and the Kingdom of God are similar to this little horse scenario. On one side is the world and all that it has to offer. On the other side are the things of God. How many times have we as Christians been just like that lone horse? We have freedom in Christ and yet we sit at the edge longing to participate in the world. Why? If we would just turn around and look, we would see that the Lord has given us freedom from the world. We are free from the penalty of sin. Let me repeat that, we are free from the penalty of sin. What is the penalty of sin you ask? Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We are free in Christ and what a freedom we have. The Lord paid the ransom for our souls on Calvary. That price has been paid, turn around and enjoy the freedom you have in Christ.
Now ideally not only should our goal as Christians be to enjoy the freedom that Christ gave us, but we should also look to bring as many of the other “horses” over into our “pasture.” Heaven is exclusive in the sense that there is only one way to God and that’s through Jesus Christ. John 14:6 “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” While Heaven is exclusive in that sense, the opportunity to get there is for all. And that’s an important thing to remember. We shouldn’t be longing to be of the world. We are set apart and our minds should be on higher things. In addition to that we should also be looking for ways to bring others to the Lord.
So we need to not be like this lone horse, longing to be in the world while the freedom in Christ is right behind us. Let us all revel in the freedom that has been freely given to us and invite others to share in the joy of a life lived in Christ. May your life be well lived and may it be lived to serve Him. Praise the Lord for nature, for I know He still speaks to us through His creation.
About a year ago I was driving up to Dallas from Katy/Houston. I love taking what I lovingly refer to as the “back roads” to get to Dallas. I can’t stand Interstate 45 so I head through the back roads till I get to Highway 6 and take that to I-35 then onward to Dallas, but I digress. My little story comes from an observation I made while on the “back roads.” I was driving on this little two lane farm-to-market road when I saw something profound. On one side of the road there were about ten or so horses moving around in a moderately sized, fenced in area. It wasn’t huge and the horses didn’t seem to have a great deal of room to maneuver about in. On the other side of the road was a lone horse in a fenced in area that seemed to have no end. The lone horse had all the room in the world to gallop, explore, and just enjoy the freedom that the horses across the road did not have. But you see, it wasn’t the size of the horse pen that I noticed, it was what the lone horse was doing that caught my eye. He sat there at the fence along the road, staring at the ten horses across the way. Now let me paint for you the picture of this horse. He stood about as close to the fence as possible so that he might be able to be as close to the other horses as possible. His head was outstretched as far as it could be in an “almost there…almost there” kind of pose. As I continued by I wondered why this horse didn’t just simply turn around and enjoy his freedom. He had all the room in the world to run around. It didn’t click with me until I realized how much I am, how we all are, like this horse.
The lone horse had freedom; he had something the other horses across the way didn’t have. He had room to run around, take a drink from a cool stream, and just be out in the open, but that’s not what he wanted. What he wanted was to be with the other horses. You see the world and the Kingdom of God are similar to this little horse scenario. On one side is the world and all that it has to offer. On the other side are the things of God. How many times have we as Christians been just like that lone horse? We have freedom in Christ and yet we sit at the edge longing to participate in the world. Why? If we would just turn around and look, we would see that the Lord has given us freedom from the world. We are free from the penalty of sin. Let me repeat that, we are free from the penalty of sin. What is the penalty of sin you ask? Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We are free in Christ and what a freedom we have. The Lord paid the ransom for our souls on Calvary. That price has been paid, turn around and enjoy the freedom you have in Christ.
Now ideally not only should our goal as Christians be to enjoy the freedom that Christ gave us, but we should also look to bring as many of the other “horses” over into our “pasture.” Heaven is exclusive in the sense that there is only one way to God and that’s through Jesus Christ. John 14:6 “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” While Heaven is exclusive in that sense, the opportunity to get there is for all. And that’s an important thing to remember. We shouldn’t be longing to be of the world. We are set apart and our minds should be on higher things. In addition to that we should also be looking for ways to bring others to the Lord.
So we need to not be like this lone horse, longing to be in the world while the freedom in Christ is right behind us. Let us all revel in the freedom that has been freely given to us and invite others to share in the joy of a life lived in Christ. May your life be well lived and may it be lived to serve Him. Praise the Lord for nature, for I know He still speaks to us through His creation.
Friday, January 2, 2009
From a Father to a son
I sat down and prayed on the first morning of 2009 to usher in the New Year. As I sat there and reflected on what has been and what is to come, I felt a stir in me. I have never been one on New Year’s resolutions...and I won't be starting today, but what I did get from my quiet time was a good Father to son "guide" on how to move forward into this New Year. I want to share what God laid on my heart that morning...(this is from God's perspective)
My son,
As you move into a new year, I want you to remember a few things that will greatly improve the quality of your life and those around you.
-Smile more and watch as others follow suit
-Listen more than you speak
-Don't sweat the small things
-Laughter IS the best medicine and it’s contagious
-How you see yourself is how others see you...so see yourself through My eyes
-Patience is more than a virtue...it’s a necessity
-Being late...who cares
-Have fun and seek joy
-Stop and soak up My creation from time to time
-Love more...even if it is risky
-Be a true friend and a good friend
-You're never too old to play tag with your niece
-Dancing in the rain is good for the soul
-Lie down in the grass and stare at the clouds
-Be intentional about your actions...but never intentionally hurt someone
-Don't be too proud to ask for forgiveness
-Be quick to forgive others
-Don’t run away from problems
-Let go of bitterness before it grabs onto you
-Put others ahead of yourself
-Rejoice at the sunrise, for each day is full of new promise
-Don't be afraid of getting hurt or falling down
-Relationships are more important than rules
-Do take time to stop and smell the roses
-Don't let golden opportunities pass you by
-Don't let busy-ness cause you to miss out on a full life
-Never be afraid to shed a tear
-Take care of yourself spiritually, emotionally, and physically
-Times may get tough, but I will be there to guide you...or to carry you
-Take time to serve for it renews your spirit
-Take time out of your day to spend with Me...I cherish that time with you
-Trust in the Me
These things are simple and don't cost you anything, but time. Don't waste the time I have given you, spend it and spend it wisely. And never, EVER forget my son...I love you!
Love,
Your Father
What great advice from a Father to a son. I hope that everyone who reads this sees it not as an impossible task, but instead as a way to really find joy in life. I know I have already started on this and it’s already greatly improved my life. So here’s to a blessed New Year! May this year be your best year yet!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
