No Reply At All

May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.  

2 Thessalonians 3:5

Recently, in seeking God's wisdom and guidance about a situation, I began to grow tired and frustrated because I just couldn't seem to hear an answer.  In fact, I felt like I was hearing other people's insight, but not God's.  It finally dawned on me that I was neglecting an important aspect of my faith walk by not digging deeper into the Word, hence the reason I was not feeling God's nudge either way.

God can and will speak His truths into our lives if we allow Him to.  When seeking Him, He will always move us closer to His will and His never ending love.  He always leads us to what is right, never wrong, and His answers to our prayers are clear cut, definitive, and absolute.

If you think you can truly seek God by only showing up to church on Sundays or just praying your personal wish list, save yourself some time and frustration by incorporating God's Word into your daily routine.

You Should Be Glad

Who with reason despises the day of small things?  Zechariah 4:10

Let's face it, if you have ever had any experience in sales, some days are better than others.  This is true in any occupation or career, but quite often, the sales cycle in the employee benefits arena is long and taxing.  You can work on an account or case for several months only to find out that you didn't win the business.

From the motion picture Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby, Ricky Bobby’s dad said it best, "If you ain't first, you're LAST!" Recently, there have been some small signs of growth that look promising...seeds that were planted over the past few years here in Knoxville are finally starting to sprout opportunities for me and I know just Who to thank.

I believe, wholeheartedly, that God plants these small seeds.  Too often, we want immediate results or whatever it is that we are facing to come to pass too quickly.  When you find evidence of those small seeds that the good Lord has planted, you should rejoice with hope knowing that God has bigger and greater things in store for you.

God never breaks His promises to us and He always finishes what He starts.  Just think about it, be thankful, and hold on with hope!! He is preparing to do something great in your life!

Limb By Limb

But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.  They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:7

I enjoy working on improving our yard each spring.  A couple of years ago, I planted several Leland Cypresses and a Weeping Willow in our backyard.  I came across an old photo of the kids playing in the yard and couldn't help but notice how much the trees have begun to grow.  It got me thinking, just like picking out the right spot for trees to have optimal growth, we also need to plant our roots firmly around God’s Word and will for our lives.

If you are like me, you have no problem turning over the bigger issues to God.  That’s great, but God wants us to trust Him with every detail of our lives.   When we focus on our circumstances, we take our focus off of Jesus Christ.  We must learn to keep our focus on God’s presence at all times, during every circumstance, every moment of the day.

Jesus made the ultimate love sacrifice to save us from certain death and He can be trusted in every facet of our lives!

Fortress Around Your Heart

I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I trust!  Psalm 91:2

Too often, we as believers seem to forget that we are ready to face anything with Christ, who infuses inner strength into each one of us.

You see, when we trust God, we don’t have to be afraid of the enemy’s sudden attacks and the unexpected turns that we will inevitably face..even in the face of this pandemic.  God is our strong fortress.

No matter what may come against us, we can live with peace of mind knowing that we will never be defeated!

Got To Give It Up

They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings-and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers.  Revelation 17:14

Ask yourself this very difficult question...is Jesus the Lord of everything in your life or only a few things?  If I am completely honest, my answer would be along the lines of: “He is the Lord over some of my marriage, some of my parenting, some of my finances, some of my career, some of my relationships; etc.”  The problem with my answer is that Jesus wants to be the Lord over ALL things in my life, and He wants the same for you as well.  Here is an even more difficult question to ponder: Is God still in control in the face of the COVID-19 crisis? 

The titles "Lord of Lords" and "King of Kings" are not just some empty Holy-roller words used to describe Jesus, but they are appropriate for the One who is the Lord over all things in this universe, time, each and every circumstance and situation.  If you have accepted Him as your personal Lord and Savior, then there is never a single moment the rest of your life that He will not be in complete control making sure that all things come together for your good, in accordance to His perfect will and timing. This still holds true to this day.  

We must learn to let go of the control we so desperately try to manage in every area of our lives and turn it over to the One who really is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings!  

Good Thing

The communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.  Philemon 1:6

We all have someone in our lives-a family member, a friend, a neighbor, or a co-worker, that seems to be down and out and full of negativity.  With social distancing, working remotely, and most of the world essentially on 'lock-down' it's easy to be negative.  In moments of isolation, it is easy to self-loathe too.  The truth is that God never intended for His children to act this way.  You see, the communication of our faith is made effectual by acknowledging every good thing that is in you through Christ Jesus, not by rambling on about everything that is wrong. I have been pondering this an awful lot lately-trying to take a personal inventory of my life...

The enemy wants us to spend every waking moment of our lives pondering how awful we are.  He will stop at nothing to direct our focus from who we are in Christ to all of our many shortcomings.  His intentions are for us to believe that because of our faults, we are worthless.

There is a saying that we should “count our blessings.”  We should count our blessings and we also need to remember that we are a new creation in Jesus Christ and an ongoing work in progress.  Start acknowledging the good things that are inside of you because of Jesus Christ.

Stop-Go

All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.  We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need.  Colossians 1: 10-11

It seems like my patience (as is everyone's) has been tested over the course of the past several days/weeks during this horrible pandemic.  Most of everything we collectively are waiting on/praying for is completely out of our control, so there is not much other choice but to rely on God in faith and continue clinging to hope as the self distancing continues through the end of April.  

The truth is that we all have the fuel we need to persevere in this life through the never-ending power of God that is working in each of us.  As we become more obedient and more in tune with our loving Father, His power will strengthen us and ignite our abilities to persevere.

The best news is that we don’t just endure with God’s help, but we persevere with joy!  Thanks be to God!!!