Tomorrow

 

So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.  For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.  2 Corinthians 4:18

 

Following a series of unforeseen events that transpired between work and home, I pretty much felt defeated by the time the day ended on Monday.  Simply stated, I was feeling overwhelmed.  As hard as it was, I really made a conscious effort to keep my focus on Christ as best I could.

God promises us all that the troubles looming in our lives today will not last forever.  So, our goal should be on focusing our attention away from our hurt and pain and looking towards the things that will last forever-God's never-ending love, His gift of grace and mercy, and eternity in heaven with Him.

When you fix your eyes on Him, your present troubles will be seen as only temporary because you know that they won't last for long.

We can live our lives with confidence today because we have a greater hope in God's promises for our lives tomorrow.  

Rock of Ages

 

Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is always the same, yesterday, today, yes and forever to the ages.  Hebrews 13:8

Think of how many friends and relationships you have had over the course of your lifetime.  Now, think about how much people (yourself included) have changed during the friendships/relationships.  It's human nature that we change; sometimes we change for the better sometimes it's for the worse.

Now, think of the reasons why you love Jesus.  The obvious answers are that He loves us, or He gave His life for us on the cross to save us from certain peril, or He rose again on the third day.  But what about your daily relationship with Him?  When you look at how constant Jesus is with us, one of the qualities you will appreciate the most is that He never changes.

The reason we can love and trust Him is that He is never changing.  Jesus said "This is the way I was, and this is the way I'm always going to be."

There are not many constant things or people that you can count on any more, but you can always count on Jesus.  He can change anything that needs to be changed in your life, but he will always stay the same!

Twenty Years Later

 

God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect.  2 Samuel 22:33

It’s been over two decades since I invited Jesus Christ into my life as my personal Lord and Savior.  Through the years, God has given me total assurance that He loves me, first and foremost, and that He is much larger than any problem that I will ever face over the course my lifetime.  Knowing that He loves me and will never leave my side has provided me with a Supernatural strength of sorts that allows me to hold on to hope and retain joy, regardless of my circumstances.  After all these years since my mother passed away, the pain is still raw, but with God by my side I have been able to keep moving forward...  

This same confidence can be yours if you are willing to accept that He has every available resource in the universe to draw upon to help us through any type of crisis, if we will only trust Him.

He delights in showing me daily that He is the ultimate source of my strength, my protection, provision, and success in life.  He is in control of my life and knows everything that is going to happen to me tomorrow, next week, next year, until my time on this earth is up.

Give up the control in your life and turn it over to the One who loves you and is larger than anything you will face in this life!!

Imagine

 

The Lord gives His people strength.  The Lord blesses them with peace. Psalm 29:11

You don’t have to search too hard to determine that we live in a broken world these days.  If you don’t agree, just watch the news or read a newspaper.  I have made a conscious effort to keep the television, especially the news, off over the past year or so and it has helped my mental state.  Sometimes, it is overwhelming and hard to find peace with so much going on in the world around us. 

The above passage from Psalm 29 assures us that true peace can only come from God.  Furthermore, peace with God comes from living the way that God wants his people to live.  Once we are in a relationship with our loving Father, we must choose to live according to the standards he provides us in his Word.

When we follow God’s instructions on how to live, God strengthens us and blesses us with a peace that is only found in Him!

The End Of The Innocence

 

For our knowledge is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect), and our prophecy (our teaching) is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect).  But when the complete and perfect (total) comes, the incomplete and imperfect will vanish away (become antiquated, void, and superseded).  

1 Corinthians 13:9-10

Being 52 years old now and a little wiser (not really), the more I realize that I simply do not have all of the answers to life.  Not even close.  This is a far cry from my attitude of being younger where I was convinced that I knew everything, much to my parents’ amusement.  

I can now see these same tendencies both of our boys, Elliott who is off to college for his freshman year, and Elijah who recently celebrated his 16th birthday earlier this month.  We have multiple disagreements about who is the GOAT; Michael Jordan or LeBron James and heated debates over our favorite comic book characters and neither realize that I just may know a little more than some of the boys in his circle of friends, especially when it comes to the Marvel and DC Universe.  (After all, I am still a comic book nerd and not ashamed to admit it)!

We must change our attitudes and thinking from believing that we know it all, to trusting God  and living with unanswered questions.

No matter where we are in our walk of faith, God will continue to lead us and in doing so, He requires us to fix our eyes on Him, and follow Him one step at a time.

Keeping The Faith

 

He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse or in human might.  No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear Him, those who put their hope in His unfailing love.  Psalm 147:10-11

With the summer coming to a close and school back in session, the month of August always makes me reminisce about 'two-a-day' football practices in the blistering heat of East Alabama.  Most players start the preseason off competing for a spot as a starter on the team.  During practice, the players give their best effort on the field with hopes that the coaching staff will award them with a coveted position on the team.  As exciting and competitive as this entire process is, I am convinced that God is more impressed with our faith than our actual abilities.

If we want to accomplish great things in this life and delight God in the process, we must be willing to step out in faith and allow God to accomplish great things through us.  Our abilities give us the potential to do good while our faith gives us the power to do good.

Our potential and limited power is not sufficient; we must change our limitations to an unlimited faith in God!!

Hold On To Hope

 

We have thought of Your steadfast love.  O God, in the midst of Your temple.  Psalm 48:9

There are times that I certainly feel overwhelmed with trying to balance my life-responsibilities at home and at work, obligations with family and friends, and as a result it’s easy to feel down.  I question if I am being the husband and father that my family needs me to be.  Am I a good son to my father? What about my sister? Am I the brother she needs me to be? Am I being a good neighbor?  How is my performance at work?  Am I going ‘above and beyond’ to serve as God would have me serve?  Before I get too far down, I have found that it always seems to help to recall all of the good things that God has done, is doing, and is going to do in my life.

When we ponder the doings of God and the works of His hands, it  is hard to stay down for long.  The enemy will always come against us to make us feel depressed or discouraged, but we must choose to remember the times where God has blessed us and delivered us in the past.

When we focus on His good works, hope will rise in our hearts and our troubles won’t seem too big!  Praise His holy name!