Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. (Acts 3:19)
Our pastor made mention of John Wesley, the founder of the United Methodist Church, during yesterday's sermon. He said that the earliest members of the UMC used to meet at each other's houses for what were called town meetings. Each one of those meetings began with each member sharing a list of their committed sins with one another. Could you imagine starting out the work week openly sharing all of your sins and shortcomings with your family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors? I know I'd probably think twice about some of the petty and selfish things I do....
Honestly, one of the first steps of repentance is confession of our sins. You must be humbly honest with God in addition to being sincere and sorry for your actions. Genuine repentance also requires a heart that is willing to accept change.
Repentance brings forgiveness, which ultimately restores your relationship with the Father. God removes your guilt and lovingly heals your brokenness while restoring your joy.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Drift Away
We must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. (Hebrews 2:1)
Both boys spent the weekend in Atlanta with their grandparents and Charlie finally had us to himself again. Charlie, our Shetland Sheepdog, has been our family pet since the summer of 2001. He has moved with me to 6 different homes in 3 different states, fathered 6 puppies, and ran over 8,000 miles since 2006! He was the center of attention until our sons were born. It amazed me last night to see him play fetch in the house for the first time as long as I could remember. To be honest, I actually felt somewhat guilty for neglecting him...
As sad and tragic as it is to neglect a pet, is just as tragic when you neglect your heavenly Father. God patiently waits for you to seek Him each and every day. He longs to hear your voice through prayer, He wants to reveal His truths through His Word, and wants to be worshipped corporately by His congregation. He wants to know that He is first in your life and that you are willing to follow His perfect will. Your relationship with God is the most important relationship you can possibly have.
God extends His loving arms to you daily; don't fail to neglect Him!
Both boys spent the weekend in Atlanta with their grandparents and Charlie finally had us to himself again. Charlie, our Shetland Sheepdog, has been our family pet since the summer of 2001. He has moved with me to 6 different homes in 3 different states, fathered 6 puppies, and ran over 8,000 miles since 2006! He was the center of attention until our sons were born. It amazed me last night to see him play fetch in the house for the first time as long as I could remember. To be honest, I actually felt somewhat guilty for neglecting him...
As sad and tragic as it is to neglect a pet, is just as tragic when you neglect your heavenly Father. God patiently waits for you to seek Him each and every day. He longs to hear your voice through prayer, He wants to reveal His truths through His Word, and wants to be worshipped corporately by His congregation. He wants to know that He is first in your life and that you are willing to follow His perfect will. Your relationship with God is the most important relationship you can possibly have.
God extends His loving arms to you daily; don't fail to neglect Him!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
What You Need
By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence. (2 Peter 1:3)
It's that time of year again; tax season. No, I am not a CPA, but many of my friends who are always seem to disappear for several weeks the first part of each new year. We have already filed our taxes and Alicia and I were slightly disappointed by our returns. We were blessed to receive a nice return, but it wasn't as much as we received the prior year, which let us down a little. God quickly dispelled my disappointment and filled my spirit with contentment. I am blessed to have a career in a struggling economy and blessed to be filing taxes on the income I received in 2010. There is no reason for me to be down at all!
The truth is, when our contentment depends on things going our own way, we will become unhappy when they don't. When your contentment comes from watching Him meet all of your needs, you can rest secure and happy because you will always have all you need.
He is the great Teacher, and if you allow Him, He will teach you to discern the valuable things in life from the distractions.
It's that time of year again; tax season. No, I am not a CPA, but many of my friends who are always seem to disappear for several weeks the first part of each new year. We have already filed our taxes and Alicia and I were slightly disappointed by our returns. We were blessed to receive a nice return, but it wasn't as much as we received the prior year, which let us down a little. God quickly dispelled my disappointment and filled my spirit with contentment. I am blessed to have a career in a struggling economy and blessed to be filing taxes on the income I received in 2010. There is no reason for me to be down at all!
The truth is, when our contentment depends on things going our own way, we will become unhappy when they don't. When your contentment comes from watching Him meet all of your needs, you can rest secure and happy because you will always have all you need.
He is the great Teacher, and if you allow Him, He will teach you to discern the valuable things in life from the distractions.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Come Together
Where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them. (Matthew 18:20)
It's no secret that during college I spent a majority of my time going to concerts. Specifically, I followed bands like Widespread Panic, Phish, Galactic, String Cheese Incident, and the Dave Matthews Band around the country as much as I possibly could. My parents always were baffled at how many times I went to see the same bands. It was hard for them to understand, but it was always about the experience of just being there, hearing the songs jammed live and the throng of followers that traveled to every show in every city the bands played.
Our experience at church is not much different. Christ lives in the heart of every believer, but He also lives in the community of the church. When the church is gathered together, something special happens-He fills the walls with His Holy presence. I have seen lives changed at the alter of our church. It's one of the greatest experiences of my lifetime to see someone surrender to His never-ending love.
Just like being at a live concert or sporting event makes it more exciting, worshipping God with other believers makes it even more meaningful!
It's no secret that during college I spent a majority of my time going to concerts. Specifically, I followed bands like Widespread Panic, Phish, Galactic, String Cheese Incident, and the Dave Matthews Band around the country as much as I possibly could. My parents always were baffled at how many times I went to see the same bands. It was hard for them to understand, but it was always about the experience of just being there, hearing the songs jammed live and the throng of followers that traveled to every show in every city the bands played.
Our experience at church is not much different. Christ lives in the heart of every believer, but He also lives in the community of the church. When the church is gathered together, something special happens-He fills the walls with His Holy presence. I have seen lives changed at the alter of our church. It's one of the greatest experiences of my lifetime to see someone surrender to His never-ending love.
Just like being at a live concert or sporting event makes it more exciting, worshipping God with other believers makes it even more meaningful!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Follow The Leader
When good people run things, everyone is glad, but when the ruler is bad, everyone groans. (Proverbs 29:2, The Message)
Not to open up a political can or worms, but people sure do enjoy complaining about who holds the office of the President of the United States of America. For a solid eight years, George W. Bush was demonized by liberals. Barrack Obama has not fared much better from conservatives and Tea Party members. Regardless of political affiliations or beliefs, we are all called to be leaders, but personal success without leadership ability will only result in limited effectiveness.
If you aspire for great heights, you need leadership to reach those heights. Whatever you accomplish is restricted by your ability to lead others. To be a true leader, you must be willing to make difficult decisions, take risks, have vision, work tirelessly, be willing to accept change, and serve others in the process. Jesus laid the perfect foundation and mold for a true leader. His example should be the one we follow in our efforts to lead others.
To reach the high effectiveness as a leader, you have to raise the lid on your leadership ability. Follow His lead and you can't go wrong!
Not to open up a political can or worms, but people sure do enjoy complaining about who holds the office of the President of the United States of America. For a solid eight years, George W. Bush was demonized by liberals. Barrack Obama has not fared much better from conservatives and Tea Party members. Regardless of political affiliations or beliefs, we are all called to be leaders, but personal success without leadership ability will only result in limited effectiveness.
If you aspire for great heights, you need leadership to reach those heights. Whatever you accomplish is restricted by your ability to lead others. To be a true leader, you must be willing to make difficult decisions, take risks, have vision, work tirelessly, be willing to accept change, and serve others in the process. Jesus laid the perfect foundation and mold for a true leader. His example should be the one we follow in our efforts to lead others.
To reach the high effectiveness as a leader, you have to raise the lid on your leadership ability. Follow His lead and you can't go wrong!
Europa and the Pirate Twins
My child, if you receive my words, and store up my commands within you, by making your ear attentive to wisdom...if you seek it like silver, and search for it like hidden treasure, then you will understand how to fear the Lord, and you will discover knowledge about God. (Proverbs 2:1, 4-5)
I guarantee that if I were at a meeting and gave people the coordinates on a GPS device to find the exact location of a treasure chest filled with over a million dollars worth of silver, gold, and rare jewels, that it wouldn't be long before I'd be the only person left at that meeting! People would certainly be eager to search for such a valuable treasure.
Proverbs 9:10 states, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." What does it mean to fear the Lord? Fear is used to describe an awesome reverence for the Lord that makes us acknowledge Him as the creator of life, this earth, and everything in it, submission to His will and trusting and obeying Him as the Lord and Savior over our lives.
Sure, anyone that can read, can read His commands in the Bible. It's not just reading His Word, it's about becoming doers of His Word. If we desire to please Him and honor Him, we will turn from evil and live obediently.
The end result is gaining wisdom beyond all human understanding, which is more valuable than any tangible treasure!
I guarantee that if I were at a meeting and gave people the coordinates on a GPS device to find the exact location of a treasure chest filled with over a million dollars worth of silver, gold, and rare jewels, that it wouldn't be long before I'd be the only person left at that meeting! People would certainly be eager to search for such a valuable treasure.
Proverbs 9:10 states, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." What does it mean to fear the Lord? Fear is used to describe an awesome reverence for the Lord that makes us acknowledge Him as the creator of life, this earth, and everything in it, submission to His will and trusting and obeying Him as the Lord and Savior over our lives.
Sure, anyone that can read, can read His commands in the Bible. It's not just reading His Word, it's about becoming doers of His Word. If we desire to please Him and honor Him, we will turn from evil and live obediently.
The end result is gaining wisdom beyond all human understanding, which is more valuable than any tangible treasure!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Feeling Gravity's Pull
Do not fret! That only leads to trouble! (Psalm 37:8)
Several years ago, my old doctor asked me during a regular check-up if I experienced "high, highs" and "low, lows." When I answered "yes," he quickly offered to write a script for an anti-depression/anti-anxiety prescription. I graciously declined as something did not feel right about it at all; ups and downs in life seem normal to me and just something that all people experience. An unsettling fact is that over 5 Million Americans are prescribed some sort of anti-anxiety medication each year.
In many cases, anxiety medication is a necessity, but I can't help but think that many people are overprescribed in our country and simply do not need to take anything at all. You see, concern is productive and often times, motivates us to take action. Anxiety is the polar opposite-it is counterproductive and paralyzes us from doing anything at all. Concern is positive while anxiety is negative and keeps one stuck in the present.
I would be a liar if I said I never experience any form of anxiousness in my life. The big difference and point that I would like to make is that concern, unlike anxiety, leads us to make decisions. Decisions such as learning to trust in God, choosing to seek His will, and choosing to follow Him where He is leading us.
Several years ago, my old doctor asked me during a regular check-up if I experienced "high, highs" and "low, lows." When I answered "yes," he quickly offered to write a script for an anti-depression/anti-anxiety prescription. I graciously declined as something did not feel right about it at all; ups and downs in life seem normal to me and just something that all people experience. An unsettling fact is that over 5 Million Americans are prescribed some sort of anti-anxiety medication each year.
In many cases, anxiety medication is a necessity, but I can't help but think that many people are overprescribed in our country and simply do not need to take anything at all. You see, concern is productive and often times, motivates us to take action. Anxiety is the polar opposite-it is counterproductive and paralyzes us from doing anything at all. Concern is positive while anxiety is negative and keeps one stuck in the present.
I would be a liar if I said I never experience any form of anxiousness in my life. The big difference and point that I would like to make is that concern, unlike anxiety, leads us to make decisions. Decisions such as learning to trust in God, choosing to seek His will, and choosing to follow Him where He is leading us.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)