Seven Nation Army

In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall.  2 Samuel 22:30

We have all found ourselves there before...the two-touchdown underdog, the not qualified enough, not good enough, etc...every day brings a new challenge. While we may not be leading a nation or running a large corporation, we can still face difficult situations, difficult people, and temptations.

I have stated this before and I will say it again-I believe that challenges are good as they prevent us from becoming too comfortable in our faith.  In fact, I see challenges as opportunities to move into uncharted waters as we must learn to give up the control in our lives allow God to take the lead.

Without God's lead, challenges would be frightening, but with God challenges can become a great adventure.  No matter what difficulties you are facing, be sure to do it with God by your side!

All You Need Is Love

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  1 John 4:7

The Beatles were onto something with "All You Need Is Love."  After all, Jesus identified the two greatest commandments as loving God and loving other people.  Even John made the radical statement that "those who lack love don't know God." 

What surprises me about Christianity in modern times is that many people understand the need to go to church, to serve and volunteer when it's convenient, and people will support the occasional mission trip or ministry effort, but when it comes to love, the modern Christian church seems to be missing something.

It's sad, because it's not that we don't have love, it's just that individually speaking, we as believers are often times indistinguishable from the world around us. 

There is an urgency in John's instructions-we have been born of a loving God and what this word needs now more than anything is love. 

Give A Little Bit

When Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all His glory. Colossians 3:4

Watching our two boys grow up is such a blessing.  When I see our oldest son bickering about having to share his precious toys with his little brother, it reminds me of how I treated/mistreated my little sister when we were children. Ever since I can remember, our parents worked hard to teach us the value of sharing.

For most of us, as grown adults, sharing is still a hard concept for many of us to understand. I believe it is due to our fallen and sinful nature that we prefer to receive rather than to give and our thirst to accumulate rather than relinquish.

As followers of Christ, we are called to share everything-our love, time, faith, resources, talents, possessions,  and money with others.  People who share and give are promised the benefits of being generous, which are far greater than the fleeting moments of receiving.

When you realize how much God has shared and given to you, it's hard not to want to go and give and share with others in return.

This Christmas season, think of what you have that you can generously share with others...

Couldn't Get It Right

Without me you can do nothing.  John 15:5

One of our children’s favorite Bible stories is how David defeated Goliath.  If you think about it, there were probably thousands of Israelite soldiers that were better equipped to battle with Goliath rather than David.  Regardless, most any rational soldier's reaction to fighting Goliath would have been one of fear, stress, and anxiety.

David didn't waiver because he realized that it was God’s battle and not his own.

Apart from the Lord, he didn't stand a chance.  However, with God’s help and mighty strength, David was confident that everything would turn out just fine-and it did!

Against The Wind

I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you.  I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. Ezekiel 36:26

Having two children has made me inadvertently expect our oldest son to be more mature than he can actually be at his age.  It's really not fair, considering he's only six years old and just started kindergarten. I also have this tendency to want to be in control and it's often a power struggle in our household.

When we give God control of our lives, he gives us a new heart, nature, and desire to please him.  God renews our hearts when we come to him with some humility and we turn away from our old sinful habits.  As we do these things, our love for him will grow.

God has the power to change the coldest and hardest of hearts into loving ones.  Are you willing to let go and let God change you?

Running

The Lord says, "I will rescue those who love me.  I will protect those who trust in my name.  When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble.  I will rescue and honor them.  I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation." Psalm 91:14-16

  

It baffles me why I have wasted so much of my life running away from God's love.  Hindsight being much clearer now, I can't fathom all of the blessings that I missed out on for so long. 

The truth of the matter is that we are not some creatures that just randomly evolved; God created each of us in his own image so that we could have a relationship with him.  He loves us because he created us. 

God wants nothing more from us but our love and a relationship with him, so stop running away from him and discover the purpose for which you and I were created!

Little By Little

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

Leaving the gym this early morning, I couldn't help but notice how much time I spend on working out and trying to increase my own limited strength rather than relying on God’s never-ending supply of strength, especially when I am faced with adversity.

In the midst of a problem, it’s easy to focus on the size of our problem and we tend to forget that God is greater than any problem or situation we could ever possibly face.   You see, when we look at a difficult situation in terms of our own strength, we diminish the fact that God’s abilities and love are unlimited.  He will always provide us everything we need.

We must learn to not focus on the obstacles we face as problems, but view them as opportunities for God to demonstrate His awesome power and grow our faith exponentially.

God often doesn't reveal the whole picture to us, He only shows us His plans little by little, so we must learn to rely on Him daily.  We must follow His lead, guidance, and learn to trust Him with our future.