Steady, As She Goes

Steady, As She Goes

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that  far outweighs them all.  2 Corinthians 4:17

I have always been fascinated by the disciple Paul, after his conversion on the road to Damascus.  He never wavered on his commitment to sharing the Good News of the gospel despite some difficult circumstances he faced like being beaten and imprisoned for his faith.  We would be wise to learn from Paul’s behavior as he always seemed to understand that his trails and suffering were only temporary.  He was always able to press on, knowing that one day he would be able to obtain God’s rest and rewards.

As we face our own personal troubles, it’s easy for us to lose our focus and zero in on our pain rather than the ultimate goal.  Just as athletes are somehow able to perform and focus on the finish line rather than their discomfort, we too must focus on the rewards that await for us in heaven for our faith and the joy that will last eternally.

No matter what happens to us in this lifetime, we have the assurance of eternal life, where there will be no more suffering, sorrow or pain.  Thanks be to God!

Honesty

If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones.  But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.  Luke 16:10

A little pearl of wisdom that I like to share in the Fisher home comes courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.  When Peter Parker gained super-human powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider, his Uncle Ben offered the following words of wisdom:  “With great power comes great responsibility.”

In terms of our integrity, our character too must become more and more like God’s.  Just as pure gold is the result of a refining process, a life of integrity is also the result of a refining process in which we are tested daily to see how pure we are.

If God sees that our thoughts and actions are becoming more like His, then our character is becoming more like His, and we are gradually gaining integrity.

Panic

In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and give strength to all.  1 Chronicles 29:12

In this new year, I have made a conscious effort to respond more than I react to difficult circumstances.  This is something that will take quite some time to achieve, but the above passage has brought me peace and served as a simple reminder of God being in total control of every situation and circumstance.

Any of my family, friends, or co-workers will tell you that I have been known to over-react on occasion.  For instance, I thought the world was coming to an end last year when I contracted the flu for a couple of days.  Seriously, I know that I am a very reactive person and in the heat of a moment, I sometimes forget that God is in control, not just over my life, but over everything.

Right before the end of last year, I faced a small scare at work.  Instead of my usual (panic and ‘freak out’) I instead turned to the Bible and prayed with thanksgiving and praise.  God filled me with a sense of peace and calmed my nerves and everything turned out to be better than fine.

Thankfully, we have a God that is bigger than you and me and the problems we face.  Turn to Him in all situations and never forget that He is in control!

You Are Never Alone

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, through its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.  Psalm 46:1-3

If am being perfectly honest with myself, I can admit that I have experienced many days where I have felt like God is nowhere to be found.  Perhaps you have felt the same way, but one thing we can all be reassured of is the fact that God is always with us and He's always for us.

Far too often, we forget that  God is not like any person on this earth, especially someone who proved to be undependable or has broken our trust.  You see, God is omnipotent and omnipresent in each of our lives.

In the above passage from Psalms, the author expressed a quiet confidence in God’s ability to save him-even in the face of utter destruction and chaos.  We too must learn to enjoy the journey we are on and let God make the paths clear we are to take in each of our lives.  If you are fearful of tomorrow and what the future holds, slow down and enjoy the peace and blessed assurance that God loves you and is your very present helper!

Flashlight

You are a chosen people.  You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession.  As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.  1 Peter 2:9

The other day, I tore the house up looking for one of the boys’ old flashlights.  When I finally found it and turned it on, nothing happened because the batteries were long since dead and corroded.

It got me thinking how we are kind of like flashlights in the way that flashlights have the potential to provide light, but without batteries, they are useless.

Like every believer, we all have within us the light of Christ dwelling within us and the potential to shine our light brightly upon others in this dark world to draw them closer to God.

God promises to do amazing things, but only if we will let Him work through us!

What Is Life?

“When that day comes,” says the Lord, “I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as the Lord…I will show love to those I called ‘Not loved.’ And to those I called ‘Not my people,’ I will say, ‘Now you are my people.’  And they will reply, ‘You are our God!’”  Hosea 2:16, 20, 23

There is no doubt in my mind that God wants a personal relationship with each and every single person on this planet.  One of my dearest friends recently shared a series of events that makes it crystal clear that God is not only pursing a relationship with him, but is also reminding him almost daily that He loves him.

While God is almighty and powerful, we still must be ‘in tune’ and look for evidence that He is seeking a personal relationship with us.  Being into music, God has certainly spoken to me through songs.  I could hear a particular song on the radio, be in the record shop a day later and hear the same song, and then some random place like a restaurant and hear it again.  It becomes almost undeniable that God will speak to us in ways that are unique to us.

He pursues us, not to get something from us, but to give something wonderful to us-love, hope, power, salvation, joy, peace, and eternal life.  God pursues us because He knows that only He can transform our lives forever!

Thanks be to God!!  

It's A Mistake

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners ?"  But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means : 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Matthew 9:11-13

With only a couple of weeks into this new year and I have made my first big mistake at work in 2017.  I am certainly not proud or boasting here, just accepting the fact that I am only human and do make mistakes; in fact, I make a lot of them; all of the time, it seems...

One of the most common misconception about Christians in that all believers should be perfect.  Many of us go to extremes to pretend that we have every facet of our lives in order, but the truth is that while we are all forgiven, we all  still have many shortcomings.

Salvation through Christ doesn't change the fact that sin is still present in our lives.  When we become believers, God forgives us and sees as righteous.  We must continue to renew ourselves and fight the ongoing battle against sin while we are on this earth.

We must be careful not to put up a facade and cover up our shortcomings so that we appear to be “good Christians” to the outside world.  Instead, we must recognize and confess to God, our sinfulness, so that we can be forgiven when we do screw up and fall short of his glory.