Stormy Monday

Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.  Psalm 37:5

When I read the story about the disciples who were on the boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, who panicked and were fearful of the storm that engulfed them, I am reminded of the seasons in life where God wants me to trust Him and patiently wait on His blessings.  

We are all familiar with how Jesus walked across the water to the disciples and calmed the storm with a simple command.  His words made the violent waves and wind to be tranquil again.

What an analogy for us to recall during life’s greatest storms.  The disciples on the boat learned to trust in Him during the most terrifying of situations and even in the worst possible situation that you and I may face, He is waiting for us to reach out and take His outstretched arm.

Changes

 

God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.  Philippians 2:13

I recently recalled a powerful sermon that the late and great, Dr. Steve Sallee preached many summers ago at Cokesbury church entitled “Underdogs.”  One of the many points that has stuck with me all of these years later is that we must all come to a place of total submission where we give up our control and yield completely to Jesus Christ.  Far too often, we rely on our own strength instead of tapping into the supernatural powers available to all believers in faith.

God never will force Himself on any of us and we have all been blessed with our own free will. When you invite Jesus into your life, you are also giving Him permission to use His almighty power to change you.  We can attempt to change ourselves all that we want, but we will never see real results unless we turn it over to the One who has the power to make things happen.

If you open your hearts and allow God to make changes in you, you will see a transformation that will last a lifetime.  Your life will see dramatic changes if you allow God to do His work in you! Don’t rely in yourself, but rely on God and His never-ending supply of strength and power!

Forever Man

 

Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.  The old life is gone; a new life has begun!  2 Corinthians 5:17

I truly enjoy looking at old family pictures…Alicia and I look different now than when we first met and to see how much both of our boys have grown up and developed is truly remarkable.  Needless to say, change is one of the true constants of life.

The Bible teaches us two very important truths about change: The first being, despite living in an ever-changing world, God NEVER changes and is ALWAYS dependable.  The second is that when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we experience a change of heart (repentance) that produces a change in our outward lifestyle.

Sure, there are times that I look back on my life and miss certain things and activities from my past that I know are wrong, but  my heart has been changed and I remain faithful and obedient to God, not because I have to, but because I choose to, out of love.

My life has changed because of my love for Jesus and  I am a blessed man; I have a beautiful wife and children, a wonderful family, awesome friends, a promising career, good health, and my life will remain forever changed because of my relationship with Him.

The Beautiful Letdown

 

What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man.  Luke 6:22

Children can be hurtful to one another, especially when it comes to excluding someone from a group.  I recall being mean to one of my classmates in 3rd grade on the playground during recess one afternoon, back in 1983.  For some reason, my group of friends wouldn't allow him to join in our game of kickball.  He did have a rather large head and I distinctly remember changing the words of the Madness single "Our House" to poke fun and say, "_____'s head, in the middle of the street..."

Just knowing how bad he must have felt still makes me feel guilty to this very day and I am always reminded of that playground instance when I feel like I am being excluded from a group or being ridiculed for my faith.

Jesus clearly states that it is actually a blessing when you are made to feel like you are an outsider that doesn't belong on this earth.  WHAT?!? It sure doesn't feel like it.

The truth is, as a Christian, we are outsiders and we don't belong on this earth.  We must endure hardships and trials among the many blessings during our lifetimes, but God promises that we will all one day reach the place that we truly belong.

We can all look forward to receiving God's blessing for the ridicule we endure for our faith today.

Happy

 

Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is he who has forgiveness of his transgression continually exercised upon him, whose sin is covered.  Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit.  Psalm 32:1-2

I recently heard a fantastic presentation at work about stress management.  One of the keys to living a "less-stressed" life was to be grateful more often... 

God created us to live an abundant life-so much so that His Son died on the cross to save each one of us.  Just knowing that our sins are forgiven should be enough to satisfy us and make us all happy, but sadly, many of us are not. 

If you are like me, much of your time may be devoted to doing good and noble things such as serving God, but we can also burden ourselves and miss the simple blessings that He has in store for us.  We need to slow down and take the time to just be grateful for the mercy and forgiveness we have all been freely given. 

I think that God is less concerned with how much we 'do' as long as He knows that we love Him first and foremost in our lives.  Just knowing that He extended His loving grace to each of us by paying the ultimate price should be enough to make us all happy.  He loves us, so let's enjoy it more!!

The Heart of the Matter

 

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.  Ephesians 4:32

Our youngest son, Elijah, has been learning some valuable life lessons recently on forgiveness.  It seems tough in our house with two boys, but I digress. In the best way that I could possibly explain to a rising 8th grader, I told him that we all make mistakes or bad choices that hurt other people’s feelings at times.

Forgiveness as I understand it, means letting go and letting God.  Sometimes, we may not receive the apology we seek from someone who has hurt us.  In those instances, we must turn that situation/conflict/person over to God and let Him deal with it.  When we turn it over to God, we must trust Him to handle things His way and NOT our own.

It makes no difference if someone asks for forgiveness or not, we must learn to extend forgiveness at all times.  Too often, I have held onto my hurt feelings for long periods of time, often escalating the issue/conflict and as a result, causing myself more sorrow than it's worth. 

The sooner that we forgive, the sooner that God begins His good work and the healing process in us.

Turn On Your Lovelight

 

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.  Proverbs 23:7

Before making a cold call to a prospective customer, sales experts say to ‘smile’ while on the phone or the person on the other end of the line will detect that you are less than enthused about making the call and your sales results will be dismal.  Just like smiling on a cold call, our thoughts can affect other people around us in a profound way.

There have been times in my life where my people in my circle of family and friends have made me angry or upset and rather than discussing the issues openly, I allowed them to well up on the inside, which ultimately impacted my thinking and the way I acted around them.

You see, if we think loving thoughts about others, we become loving individuals, but if we are thinking negative thoughts, it is near impossible for us to act in a loving manner towards others.

We are all called to be a blessing to other people and love them into a relationship with Jesus Christ.  If we can learn to control our inner thoughts and love more with our thoughts, we will be more loving as individuals, and love is what this world needs now more than ever!

Roll With It

 

We are assured and know that all things work together and are for good to and for those who love God and are called according to His design and purpose.  Romans 8:28

Our youngest son, Elijah, said something to me the other day that got me to thinking...very innocently, he said, “Granddaddy is so old that he knows everything!”  With a smile on my face, I kindly corrected him and said something to the effect of: “as wise as his granddaddy is (and he is far wiser than me), we all will continue to learn new things each and every day the rest of our lives on this earth, even him too.” 

I still learn something new each and every day in my walk of faith, and agree with the apostle Paul in stating that all things are certainly not ‘good’ but somehow all work together for good.  God is continually working on me giving up the control over my life so that I understand that His ways are far better.

When things don’t go as we planned, we can let things fall apart, or we can roll with it.  It’s hard to relax and let the chips fall where they may, but I am a firm believer that all things work for God’s greater good and we will never fully understand or grasp why certain things happen the way they do.

Trust that God’s design is better than your own and let Him work out the details of your life-He always knows what is best for each of us!

Listen Up!

 

Come and listen to my counsel.  I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.  Proverbs 1:23

Just like I grow frustrated when our sons don’t mind or listen to me, I am sure God feels the same way about me when I fail to seek His infinite wisdom and listen to what He is trying to tell me.  God promises us that we will become wise if we listen to Him.

Here are three simple ways to listen to God better:

1.) Read the Bible.  God’s Word is not just a collection of stories, it’s is the living and breathing Word of God and it should become the instruction manual for our lives.

2.) Pray.  Our prayer life should not just be filled with a laundry list of our requests and petitions; they should include being still and quiet and listening for God to talk to us.

3.) Seek godly advice.  A wise man learns from others and the same principle holds true in listening to what other people who have gone before us are willing to share about their lives, mistakes, and heartaches.  

Desire

 

There is none upon earth that I desire besides You.  Psalm 73:25

Regardless of whether you are married, divorced, dating, broken up, in a relationship or not, we all have the need to be loved.  We can really find ourselves in trouble when our needs for intimate love go unmet and we begin to feel isolated, estranged and unfulfilled. Often times, these unmet feelings for love are confused with sexual desire, but they are much deeper than just a physical want or desire.  We are all created with the need to have a love that is unconditional, peaceful, and consistent and only God can provide this never-ending love.

I know what it is like to be trapped in a relationship where you feel like your significant other doesn't know the “real you” or doesn't love you unconditionally for who you "really" are.  It’s a hopeless and lonely place to be, but the good news is that we ARE all loved by the One who knows us inside and out.   In fact, He knows the “real you” and will never stop loving you.

Just like the Spiritual vacuum that we have in our souls that can only be filled by Jesus, the same holds true for love and only God can provide us with the love that we need!

Judgment Day

 

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.  For you will be treated as you treat others.  The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.  Matthew 7:1-2

With the latest news headlines and outpouring of public opinion on social media, I wanted to write today about the dangers of judgment.  We must be careful to judge others, because, it is simply not our place to do so.  I have had my fair share of people make unfair evaluations about me and I know that I have wrongly done the same to others throughout the years. I fear we are headed into a dangerous place where people are intolerant of others that hold a different opinion from their own and quite frankly, this scares me.

Before we jump to conclusions about others, it helps to recall the hurt we have experienced in the past when we were wrongly judged.  It helps us to avoid looking at people through a negative filter that gives us a distorted point of view.

It’s when we see others as Jesus sees them-as God’s children-that we begin to offer love, grace, and mercy rather than judgment. Just because we don't agree with someone doesn't mean that we cannot get along with them...

God Bless The U.S.A.

 

 

I urge you, first if all, to pray for all people.  Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.  Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.  1 Timothy 2:1-2

On this 4th of July, we celebrate our freedom and independence here in the United States of America.  Too often, we take for granted the sacrifices of the many brave men and women who have fought to defend this country and continue to keep us safe.  One of the greatest things we can do as Christians, is to offer our prayers for this nation; and right now prayers are needed more than ever.

We can pray that our nation is protected by God's might hand.  We can pray for our ALL of our leaders to discern what is good, noble, and right for our country, seeking God's wisdom in the process. We can pray for the least, the lost, and the last to be taken care of. We can pray for the "call to arms" to finally end racism in this country and make it equal for all.

I am proud to be an American and while I have been very sad recently we all must remember to pray for this country and be diligent about doing so.  A nation that collectively seeks God and worships Him will stand firm and live in peace!  

Birthday

 

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."  Jeremiah 1:5

My wonderful wife was was born today, back in 1978.  In addition to wishing her a happy birthday, I also wanted to write about how special each one of us is to our loving Father…

God knew each of us long before we were conceived or even born.  He thought about each of us and made us a unique creation in which He thought about us and planned for us.

If you are ever feeling discouraged, just remember that God loves you and has always thought of you as valuable to Him.  He has a purpose for each of us and we are all "appointed" by God to serve out our specific purpose.

Communication

 

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

Outside of my music sites, and "Yacht Rock Revue: Anchorheads" and my private record collecting group, "Heady Wax Fiends', I have really become disenchanted with most of social media and certainly with the national news over the past few years, in fact did not watch a second of the Presidential Debate last week. (Of all people in this country is this the best we can do?)   I am sure that people have always posted negative comments on Facebook since its inception, but it rubs me the wrong way when I read all of the negative comments, self-absorbed posts, and other 'crap' that people post, which truly should never have been repeated out loud in the first place.  I am especially weary of politics, political discussions and feel that it has sadly torn our country apart and divided people more than ever before.

I am convinced that most people wouldn't say half of the 'junk' that they are willing to write online if they were standing face to face with other people. This happens quite often at work now that most people rely on email as their primary source of communication....passive aggressive behavior is alive and well, folks! 

I don’t have any control over what others do and can only be held accountable for the things that I write or post.  After reading the above passage from Hebrews, I am reminded of all of the mercy and grace God 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 we must seek God's guidance the next time we 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.

Just The Two of Us

 

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

As our summer has kicked into high gear, it has become obvious that Alicia and I are in desperate need of quality time together.  Don’t get me wrong, as we both love doing stuff with the boys, but I think that we are both overdue to spend some time doing "adult" things like hiking, seeing live music, going to see a movie that's not animated or sci-fi/super hero genre, or going out on a dinner date; just the two of 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…