You Enjoy Myself

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all you lands!  Serve the Lord with gladness!  Come before His presence with singing!  (Psalm 100:1-2)

We are all blessed to be on our very own journeys during our lifetimes, but I don’t think that many of us are actually enjoying the ride!  When I draw my final breath, I don’t want to look back on my life and regret not living every day to its fullest.  Being a follower of Christ is not always easy, but we should always take the time to enjoy ourselves along the way. 

We are each called to complete certain tasks and fulfill God’s will for our lives, but they should never come at the expense of serving God without joy and gladness.  Like the apostle Paul, we should remain focused on finishing the race, but we should do it with joy.   

No matter what you have been called to do or where you are going or despite your present circumstances, enjoy the journey you are on.  We can’t take for granted a single moment that the Lord has blessed us with and the time we have been given on this earth!   

Seek Me, Feel Me

Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining (against God) and questioning and doubting among yourselves. (Philippians 2:14)

In the six years that I have been in loving relationship with Alicia, we have had our fair share of arguments, debates, and differences.  Let’s face it, God has a sense of humor because men and women are just two completely different creatures. 

Some of the more memorable arguments have taken place over one of us doubting what the other one is saying.  For instance, when it comes to parenting, we both have completely different approaches and the worst time to grumble and complain is in the heat of the moment, especially when the children are present. 

When our feelings take a detour, we must learn to keep them from running our lives.  To take this a step further, we must submit our will to God’s will.   We have faced several ‘big’ decisions in our marriage and when we both sought God’s voice for the answers, were able to come to an agreement together.  It’s being stubborn and refusing to seek God’s will on the small and everyday stuff that proves to be more difficult. 

Seek God in all things, regardless of how you think or feel, and then do what He tells you to do.  God blesses and anoints those who are obedient to His will!

Good Advices

Oh, how I love Your law!  It is my meditation all the day.  (Psalm 119:97)

Our independent and sometimes stubborn four-year old often fails to listen or seek my advice before doing things.  For instance,  he was balancing himself between the edge of the table and chair in the kitchen the other day after I repeatedly warned him that he would fall.  He refused to come down, so I stepped into the other room for a moment and heard a loud thump followed by his crying.  I was able to make a good lesson out of this and it goes to prove that sometimes we just have to fail and learn from our experiences before we listen to other’s advice.

Anytime we are facing important issues or decisions, we should always seek our loving Father’s advice.  There truly is no topic to big or small that we cannot seek God on.  One of the best places to begin looking for advice is the Word of God, but often times, we seek other people’s input and advice and do not seek God in the process.

We must learn to read and study His Word and then learn to apply it to our lives, regardless of what issue or decision we are facing.  In doing so, we tap into His infinite wisdom and can learn how to respond to any and all situations that we will face during our lifetime.

Lose Yourself

The sun is glorious in one way, the moon is glorious in another way, and the stars are glorious in their own distinctive way; for one star differs from and supasses another in its beauty and brillance.  (1 Corinthians 15:41)

As our youngest son continues to grow and develop, the differences between him and his older brother are astounding.  For instance, Elliott crawled for the first time around 7 months and then quickly began scaling and walking.  Elijah, on the other hand, just started to crawl this past week and will be 10 months old in July.  Elliott hardly eats enough food to sustain life; Elijah is very much like his daddy and is a human garbage disposal.  Point in case, we are all created by God to be different from one another.

To truly live the lives God intended us to live, we are to accept who we are as indivduals and fit into His great plan rather than comparing ourselves with others and trying to fit into everyone else's plans. 

Each of has been uniquely made to fill a need and we are ALL part of God's master plan.  Make it a personal goal of yours to find out what you are individually supposed to be and then succeed at being yourself.  It's okay to be different, in fact, God made you that way!

Everywhere That I Go

Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.  (1 Peter 5:7)

If you are reading this, then I successfully survived being on my own Thursday night through Sunday with both boys at home while my wife went on a much needed girls' trip with all of her college friends.  When Alicia first mentioned going out of town for a long weekend, I didn't think too much about it.  This, of course, was also before Elijah became mobile and started crawling. Elliott has also been quite a challenge now that he is four and now knows everything, so I honestly became a little anxious as she pulled out of the driveway and headed out of town on Thursday.   

The time alone with both boys was wonderful.  We had an awesome "Dude's Weekend" and were never at loss for things to do. Our awesome group of friends gladly helped out at various points throughout the weekend, so I was able to get my morning jogs in and finish some small projects around the house.  When I reflect on all of the good things God has done/is doing in my life, it's hard to keep count.  

God's presence always surrounds us, in all times, every day.  He sends each of us countless blessings and He promises to take all of our worries and anxieties upon Himself. He promises us eternal life in heaven where there will be no more worries, pain, hurt, and fears. 

God is good all of the time, all of the time, God is good!

My Soul

God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him.  (Genesis 1:27) 

We are all concerned with our image to some extent.  I make it a point to exercise daily by either running, resistance training, playing tennis, or swimming,  so that I can stay healthy and fit into the occasional spandex super-hero costume.  I am not alone in my quest to look and feel great, in fact, many people spend countless hours every week in the gym or participating in some sort of exercise because they are concerned with their image. 

The Bible tells us that we are created in God’s image.  This not only means our outward appearance, but our spiritual and emotional being as well.  When you think about it, we put a lot of emphasis on our physical bodies, these temporary dwellings, that will be transformed when we leave this earth to spend eternity in heaven.  Our spiritual being, or souls, are with us forever and when neglected, we are neglecting the most important part of what God created each of us to be. 

Our spiritual well-being is the most vital part of our being; don’t  forget to take care of your soul too!

My Own Worst Enemy

“It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”  (Galatians 2:20)

I have heard the above passage from the book of Galatians several times over the course of my lifetime, but why I am so stubborn to accept the truth?  There are times I honestly feel defeated.  Imagine this scenario, you have had a craptastic week at work, your spouse is angry at you for coming home too late and you have missed dinner, you have a pile of bills waiting for you in the mailbox and you are struggling to discipline your children…sound familiar? 

It’s easy to feel defeated at times, but God never intended any of us to live a life characterized by defeat.  He paid too high a price for each one of us to let us live the rest of our lives in misery and failure.  We each have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, to help protect us from our worst enemy-ourselves. 

The Holy Spirit is just one of God’s many provisions to help us live in peace and be victorious.   Stand tall and know that Christ lives in you!

Walk With Me

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.  (Hebrews 10:23)

In my walk of faith, there are occasions that if left to my own devices, I begin to become selfish in pursuing what makes me feel happy, and I only hear what I want to hear.  I can always tell when I am beginning to veer “off path,” because I tend to be short-tempered, impatient and combative with my family and friends.   I can typically pinpoint the “off path” beginnings by my shortened and unfocused prayers, lack of reading God’s Word, and going through the motions of worship at church. 

It’s when we live according to God’s divine wisdom that we walk by faith and not by our own sight.  We begin to make decisions as God would have us make them instead of based upon how we feel, and what makes us feel “good.” 

We must let the Holy Spirit guide us, not our impulses and emotions.  We must walk with God daily and allow His divine wisdom to reign supreme in our lives. 

Flashlight

I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the right paths.  (Proverbs 4:11)

Just like my son, I used to be scared of the dark when I was a child.  He is now four years old, but still sleeps with a lamp on during the night.  In the same way that we cannot see in the dark, we also cannot clearly see every aspect of our life, but God has no problem seeing the totality of our lives.  He knows our every thought and knows us inside and out.   God also knows our past, our present and what’s going to happen to us in the future.

He also knows our experiences, natural talents, and our spiritual gifts, so He knows the problems we are facing now and what we are called to do.  We can go to our family members and friends for guidance and what steps to take, but there honestly is no one better qualified to guide us than our loving Father. 

The more we understand God’s perspective, the stronger our ability to discern the path we are to take in this life, the way a light illuminates a dark room. 

The Love You Save

I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it.  (Revelation 3:8)

In the most simplest of statements, God’s purpose for each of us is to receive His love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness and then express it to others.  He wants a relationship with us so that we can experience His love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness on a daily basis.  When our focus is directed inwards, it is hard to share God’s love with others. 

We all need our alone time and Jesus often spent time by Himself after teaching or performing miracles.  It’s when our focus is strictly on seeking our own personal pleasure at the expense of relationships with family and friends that we are not following God’s master plan. 

We are all promised eternal life with our Father in heaven , so our days on this earth are numbered.  Make the most of everyday by putting your relationship with Jesus first, other people second, and yourself last.

Good Times, Bad Times

When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other.  Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.  (Ecclesiastes 7:14)


Coming off of a great weekend with our neighborhood friends and a special Father's Day, I took a look at my calendar and began to dread all of the work that awaits me over the next two weeks.  Don't get me wrong, I am blessed to have a wonderful career and God has certainly provided me with an abundance of opportunities lately, but it just seems like the weekends come and go so quickly and the work never ends.


God allows both good and bad times to come to everyone.  He blends both of them together in our lives in such a way that we can't possibly predict our futures or count on our own wisdom and power.  We usually take credit for the good times and blame God for the bad without taking the time to thank Him for all of the good that can come from them. 


We must not become too comfortable when times are seemingly good and seem controllable.  God may allow bad times to cause us to seek Him again.  On the flip side, when times are difficult or painful, don't despair; God is always in control of every situation and will bring good results out of bad times.

Father Figure

Take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your week knees.  Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.  (Hebrews 12:12-13)

We all model something to someone.  Being a father, this has never been more apparent to me in my lifetime.  There are times that I set a good example for our children; other times, I wish I that could take back something that I have said or done.  

After 36 years, I have really come to appreciate all of the wisdom, advice, and love that my father has given me.  The Bible promises us the way we live our lives will influence others; it may be for good or bad, for Christ or the enemy, so ask yourself what kind of example you have been setting for others lately.


I hope that one day our two sons will look back and realize that I tried to set a good example for them to live by, just like my father has for me... 

Someone Like You

Certainly you made my mind and heart; you wove me together in my mother’s womb.  I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing.  You knew me thoroughly…(Psalms 139:13)

Alicia and I are excited that work is about to begin on having our back patio covered, just in time for the summer.  We literally have no tree cover in our backyard, so it is too hot and miserable to sit outside in the blazing summer heat.   The builder came over and took the measurements a few days ago and knows exactly what materials and tools he will need to complete this project.  I know a lot of folks who are quite handy, but I am not one of them.  I attempted to put together a TV stand while in college and had several pieces left over, including the glass door that was supposed to open from the front of the stand.  Oh well….

God is like the ‘master builder’ when it comes to each of our lives.  He knows what work needs to be done and just how He will use His beloved children to finish the job.   You see, each of us are wonderfully and fearfully made to serve as His vessels while we are on this earth.   From before we were born, He has known us and the plans He has in store for us. 

Praise His holy name!!!

Water In The Sky

You will not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day.  (Psalm 91:5)

I was able to attend my 35^th Phish show on Wednesday night this week in Alpharetta, GA and it was one to remember!  A good friend and co-worker from Albany, GA had an extra ticket, so we were able to hang out with each other in addition to both of us running into some old friends that neither of us had seen in quite some time. 

On the way into the show, the sky darkened and one of the most violent thunderstorms  broke as the large crowd of concertgoers made their way into the Verizon Amphitheater.  The first storm cell left the area before show time and Phish took the stage.  All was well until sometime in the middle of the first set during bassist Mike Gordon’s “Mound” when the thunder and lightning returned with even harder wind and rain.  A first for me was seeing the band end a song abruptly and having to clear the stage until the storm passed.  This was quite frightening for everyone, considering that we were outdoors and we were surrounded by metal….

After a 49 minute break, Phish came back and picked up where they left off and they absolutely rocked Alpharetta, but seeing the destruction that the recent storms in Southeast caused surely kept most folks concerned about the weather the duration of the evening.

Many people  are scared of storms or even being alone in an empty house at night time.  It’s when we are our most vulnerable.  We can all be assured that our Lord watches over us day or night, storms or beautiful weather.  He never slumbers and is always watching over each one of His beloved children.

Despite being concerned, I felt peace that the storms would pass during the show and they eventually did.  It was a great time, but I am certainly glad to know that our Lord is always watching over us!

Give Peace A Chance

Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.  (Hebrews 12:14)


I have really had to pray hard lately and ask for God's help in making me 'hold back' and refrain from posting comments on Facebook as a rebuttal to some of my friends' recent posts.  Not sure what's going on, but some people just seem to rub me the wrong way with their negative comments, self-absorbed posts, and the 'crap' they have no business posting on the internet.  


When I pray that God helps me with my attitude, I can't help but think of all of the mercy and grace He has shown me over the course of my lifetime.  As Christians, we are to pursue holiness, which means that we are to do our very best to treat others with the same mercy and unconditional love that God has shown us.


It's hard, but seek God's guidance the next time you are feeling confrontational or short-fused.  The more we understand what our loving Father has done for us, the more we will want to live the holy life He desires for us to live.  Praise be to God-His mercy endures forever!!

Stranger In A Strange Land

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going.  By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land as though it were a foreign country…Abraham died in faith without receiving the things promised, but he saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that he was a stranger and foreigner on this earth.  (Hebrews 11:8, 13)

I have always been fascinated by people watching, especially when I am visiting a new city or town on vacation.  This weekend in Ellijay, Georgia, Alicia and I observed the locals at a small music festival on Saturday evening and felt like two outsiders, for sure.  For starters, we don’t have a Harley Davidson, we weren’t wearing boots, and our Southern accents were certainly not thick enough.  Regardless, we had a great time and when I read the above passage from Hebrews, it made me think of how we are all 'foreigners' here on this earth.

One of my favorite stories from the Bible is Abraham leading the exiles out of Egypt into the wilderness for years and years in the pursuit of the promised land.  (By the way, it’s also a great passage to read when you are struggling with impatience.)  Abraham never actually saw the end destination-the promised land, but yet remained steadfast and continually obeyed God’s command despite the years of searching and the endless complaining and anger from the impatient exiles he was leading.

We are all here on this earth for a short time and this is not our final destination-we are essentially strangers in a strange land living with the promise of what’s to come in the next life-eternity with God in heaven. It's easy to become frustrated and defeated when our needs are not met immediately, but this world is simply not our home.  


Let us not be so attached to this world's desires and possessions that we can't move out at God's command.  

The Balance

The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.  All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives.  Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established.  (Proverbs 16:1-3)

Coming off of a nice relaxing weekend in the mountains with Alicia and without the children, I was reminded of how important it is to spend quality time alone with your spouse.  Sure we missed the boys, but we were able to enjoy doing some adult things like hiking and going out on a dinner date that would have not been nearly as enjoyable had both boys been with us.

Finding the right  balance in life always proves to be more difficult than it sounds.  For us to live up to our true potential and follow the plans God has made for us, we must seek to achieve balance in our lives. 

Our first priority should always be to seek the Lord each and every day, though prayer, reading of the Word and worshiping on a regular basis.  I know too many people that consider Sunday their day of rest and will make up any excuse to not go to church.  I look forward to going each week and feel like something is off if I am out of town or miss a service. 

Our next priority should be to spend time with our family and friends.  Married couples with children should always make time for each other.  A strong marriage will work wonders with your children…

Our careers and jobs are certainly important, but we must learn to prioritize our time at work and not become consumed by it.  God wants us to lead productive lives, but not at the expense of neglecting every relationship we have including our relationship with Him. 

Lastly, we should make every effort to take care of our bodies with proper nutrition and exercise and the most underrated activity-rest.   Exercise is vital to relieve stress and will help you find peace, not to mention strengthening your body so that you can fulfill God’s purpose for your life.

Seek God on how to manage each area of your life and allow Him control of your schedule; once your priorities are in proper order you will be on the way to becoming a better servant of the Lord. 

Deliver Me

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  (Romans 10:13)


Elliott really got to milk his fourth birthday for all that it was worth by having his party the Saturday before his actual birth date, which was on Thursday.  At his day care, they had cake and ice cream for his class, so he essentially racked up on the celebration, for almost an entire week.  Despite all of celebration and the numerous gifts he received, Elliott still managed to expect a birthday present every time he saw another family member or friend. 


To some extent, we are childish with the gifts we expect to receive, but there is one gift that is given freely to each one of us-the perfect gift-the gift of God's grace.  


There is nothing you need to do to receive this gift other than calling the name of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and accepting that His death on the cross is that which saves you from sin. 


If you haven't accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, what are you waiting for?  
  

Willin'

“Not as I will, but as You will.” –Jesus (Matthew 26:39)

I certainly live up to my namesake as I am determined and admittedly quite stubborn.  And so it is with my relationship with God.  I have really been working on my prayers lately, trying not to focus so much on the content of my prayers and petitions, but more on being obedient to what God is asking me to do in my life.  I assure you that it  has not been easy for me to give up the control , but things have been much smoother at home, work and in my relationships. 

God’s ultimate goal for His beloved children is that we live in complete harmony with His master plan and yield to His will.  Jesus gave us all the ultimate example of yielding to God’s will that fateful night in the garden, moments before He was captured and crucified. 

His plan for you and me is to move us to the same obedience of and willingness of Christ so that we can someday say “Not as I will, but as You will.”

Love On The Run

I look up toward the hills.  From where does my help come?  My help comes from the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth!  He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.  (Psalm 121:1-3)

Having almost every variation of the iPod known to man, including an iPhone and my old generation one, iPad, I am still amazed at how much I am able to accomplish ‘on the go.’  If we want to watch a movie or television show, we can stream it online.  I do most of my banking online through an application.   I have a ton of my music library with me at all times, and I can stay connected at work through email and by phone.  While this is certainly cool, having God with us at all times is even cooler.

In fact, our Loving Father is not limited by space or time; He inhabits the hearts of everyone who believe in Him.  He is not restricted by buildings or places of worship; He is with us without a Wi-Fi connection or even without electricity, for that matter.

Ponder this for a moment-God is with us everywhere that we go and He is with us in everything we do.  No matter where we go or what we are doing, God is with us at ALL times!  Praise His holy name!

Shake Your Foundations

And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose… (Romans 8:28)

I don’t have an explanation for some of Elliott’s bad behavior this past week, but I will offer the possibility of going to day care only two days a week, paired with scorching summer heat, boredom, and his decision to revel in the ‘terrible 3’s’ during the days that led up to his 4^th birthday on Thursday.  Regardless, it was a particularly tough week for me and Alicia, and we felt overwhelmed by the difficult circumstances of determining the appropriate measures to take as parents to correct this unwanted behavior. 

When we face turmoil, we begin to realize just how much we need God in our lives.  I firmly believe that God allows difficult circumstances to make us realize our dependence on Him.  You see, when things are going  well, we grow idle in our faith and falsely begin to believe that we are self-sufficient in our own minds. Our Father allows these times to shake our foundations so that we are humbled and reach out to Him in need and in love. 

We must turn our lives over to God-our marriages, our children, our relationships, our jobs, finances, health; anything that we try to manage without dependence on Him is prideful and will not stand the test of time.

When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going

And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.  (Galatians 6:9)

It’s amazing how you can be on top of the world one moment and then have the weight of the world on you the very next.  Think back to when Jesus was baptized….immediately after He was filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. 

Jesus handled every situation in His life much more gracefully than I would have; He never complained once, or became discouraged, or depressed.  He faced each test and stood victorious when it was all said and done. 

What if Jesus complained about the mobs of people that came to see Him to be healed or had a negative attitude about the gruesome death He faced on the cross? 

We can all face any adversity in our lives with the same attitude that Jesus had; keep the mind of Christ and live victoriously!   

Bound For Glory

God is not a man, so He does not lie.  He is not human, so He does not change His mind.  Has He ever spoke and failed to act?  Has He ever promised and not carried it through?  (Numbers 23:19)

I recall, as I was growing up, making many promises that were never fulfilled.  Some of them, I am thankful never saw the light of day and others were disappointing because I never saw them through. 

As we grow in our faith, it is important to clearly distinguish God’s promises from frail human promises and lies.  If we cannot trust that God’s promises will come to fruition, then we can’t believe His Word.  If we can’t believe His Word, then we shouldn’t believe in Him at all.  If we don’t believe in Him at all we lose all hope and there is nothing to look forward to at the end of our lives. 

Being a Christian, we are promised life after death and it will be greater than anything we can wrap our human minds around.  Take comfort in knowing that you can believe God’s promises, His Word and that He loves you.  You can believe because all of His promises will be carried out!

The Other Side

Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side.  (Matthew 14:22)

 

Being a father has it's advantages as I can certainly draw a lot of inspiration for writing from my daily experiences.  We had Elliott's birthday party over the weekend at a very cool gymnastics center in Knoxville.  This place was filled with standard gymnastics equipment but there were also some large rope swings and vats of soft foam that the children could jump into.  Elliott was a little weary to take the plunge from the highest rope swing.  In fact, he insisted that one of parents or grandparents go first, so Alicia got to be the first to try it out. 

 

This reminded me of the story in Matthew 14 where Jesus asked the disciples to board the boat before Him and He promised that He would meet them on the other side.  He never gave any specific details nor did He bother to tell them just how He was going to cross the Sea of Galilee. 

 

Sometimes we just have to trust God without knowing any of the specific details.  If you are like me, this is proves to be very difficult as I like to know who, what, where, when, and why.

 

The Lord may not give us every detail of His plan so we should not require to know every detail or know all things either.  We just need to obey Him and trust that His timing is perfect and good, as it always is.

Three Little Birds

Be strong and very courageous.  Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.  (Joshua 1:7)

For Elliott's fourth birthday, his grandparents gave him the coolest Spider-Man bike, which he said was a "sweet ride."  Of course, this is his first bicycle, so the training wheels are intact and we must continually supervise him and instruct him to steer left or right while he rides, but he is learning quickly. 


Our lives are much the same; if we remain steadfast and obedient to God's Word and instructions, we are less likely to veer off track.  Many people believe that success is measured by prosperity or the power we have, but true success measured by how obedient we are to the Lord.  


When we are facing a difficult situation, we must be strong and courageous because the task ahead will be hard.  In addition, we are to remain grounded in the Living Word found in the Bible and remain obedient to God.


We may not succeed by the world's standards, but we always be successful in God's eyes and His opinion lasts for an eternity!

True

Be strong and of good courage.  Dread not and fear not; be not dismayed.  (1 Chronicles 22:13)


Today is a big day for several people we love and are close to, so I offer these words of encouragement.  From experience, there have been moments in my life that I dreaded or feared the worst outcome and my entire outlook and attitude was impacted in a negative way.  


As believers, we can live with positive attitudes knowing that God loves us, created us, and promises each of us eternal life and salvation.  Satan enjoys making us live with dread and fear as if God's promises aren't true.  


God has not given us a spirit of fear (2 Tim 1:7) and since He did not give us fear, you know He did not give us dread either.  God always goes ahead and makes a path for us.  The next time something seems daunting or unpleasant, trust that your loving Father has gone before you to make a way for you and refuse to live in fear!!

I Just Called To Say "I Love You"

Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.  (Psalm 63:7)

I normally make most of my personal phone calls to family and friends on the way into the office after dropping the boys off at school in the mornings. Thursday morning, all AT&T customers lost 3G service from about 9am until noon.  Instead of just settling for listening to music, I put the iPhone down and said a prayer.  Albeit a short one, it changed the outlook of my entire day and left me wondering why I don't make more time to talk to God through prayer more often.  Sure, I say my prayers in the mornings, in the evenings, and before meals, but why not when I have spare time like riding around in the car? 

You see there is never a time that we are ever 'cut off' from God, so we have unlimited access to Him through prayer-24/7.  It could be while you are in the kitchen preparing a meal, at work, in the car, in the bathroom-anywhere and everywhere.  Having this access to our loving Father is a privilege that we all take for granted. 

It's pretty cool that we don't have to follow a certain protocol or say specific words, He just wants to hear from us, plainly and simply put.  

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.  He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.  (Psalm 103:8-10)


The phone call with my sister started out like any other yesterday, but quickly took a turn for the worse with both of us saying some very hurtful and destructive things to each other before the conversation ended.  I certainly went about things the wrong way; I was angry, defensive, and hurled insults instead of following Jesus' principle of turning the other cheek when someone has wronged you.  I felt guilty for my actions the remainder of the evening and called to apologize but she did not take my call and I had to leave my apology on her voice mail.  


Why is it so easy for us to say hurtful things to the people we love the most, especially our family? The more I reflect on the things we said to each other the more I began to be overwhelmed by how loving, forgiving, and slow to anger God is with me.  What if God actually gave us what we deserved?  What if God kept a list of our wrongdoings and we were repaid according to our sins?  Thankfully, the ultimate price has been paid for our sins and we will never have to experience God's wrath for our iniquities.  


Just has God forgives us, we are to extend forgiveness to others who have hurt or wronged us.  It's not as easy as it seems, but it's the only way to mend and repair a broken relationship and move forward in love.  

You Wanna Freak Out

Fear the Lord and depart from evil.  It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.  (Proverbs 3:7-8)

 

I had the privilege of hearing Jeremie Kubucek, CEO of GiANT Impact, speak yesterday morning about overcoming our desires for self-preservation, which is a tendency that sabotages many people today.  Self-preservation, as Jeremie described it, is living in fear of losing something.  When you live with the fear of losing something, it cripples your efforts to live a productive life and everything you do is only mediocre, at best. 

 

To expand upon this principle a little further, the person who lives their life according to God's master plan is a person that values their time and seeks to make the most of the time God has given them.  When we live prideful lives, we are living according to our own plans and our own will, ignoring God's wisdom along the way.  We must make the decision each and every new morning to seek God in humility and dependence that His ways are truly better than our own.  

 

God does not want His children to live in fear.  In fact, it's quite the opposite; He wants us all to live productive lives with the confidence, joy, wisdom, peace, and love that only He can provide.   

 

Apply God's principles to work in your life and you will experience great strength, success, and health! 

Outta My System

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Have you ever pondered why you are here on this earth or wondered exactly what it is that you are living for?  The longer I am married and as my children continue to grow, my answer has become very clear-I am no longer living only for myself anymore.  The closer I grow in my relationship with Christ, the more I realize that my existence on this planet is not just for my family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, or clients; it's all about bringing glory God.

My world view has changed drastically over the past decade.  I couldn't have been a more self-centered and self-absorbed person before Christ and my family made me a changed man and on occasion, my lovely wife keeps me grounded when I begin to digress.   Even when I had the privilege of serving as a youth pastor in a small Methodist church in Georgia, I had to keep my ego in check, because it was too easy to believe that I was making the youth group grow and be successful, when the reality was that it was ALL God's doing.

Once you begin to understand that the gift of God's wonderful grace-God saving us despite being 'dead' in our sins, the more you understand your true purpose on this earth.  There is hardly room to boast, brag, or be self-centered anymore because you realize that ALL good things come from the Lord above and NOT from yourself.