Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged.  Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you...For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." -Jesus Christ, Luke 6:37 


It's so easy to do, but often times we find ourselves comparing and contrasting Elijah's growth and development to his older brother's.  I even do it on occasion between similar bands that I enjoy.  Lastly, I admittedly compare myself to others to see where I measure up.  


Jesus' words from the Gospel of Luke warn us against judging and evaluating others, as it's simply not our role.  We are destined for misery if we are always comparing ourselves with other people, too.  


The broken world that we live in almost turns everything into a competition of sorts.  "We may fight, but our marriage is better than..."  "Our child beat their child out for a starting spot on the team.." And so on, and so on.


We must be careful of where we seek affirmation, especially making evaluations of other people.  Our loving Father sees each one of us a unique creation; fearfully and wonderfully made.  Be open and receptive to the only affirmation that matters; our Creator and awesome God!

Heaven

There is more than enough room in my Father’s home.  If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  John 14:2

If you are at all like me, you like to have the details of your travel planned before you arrive at your destination.  Just recently, I went to Florida on a business trip and boarded a plan without a hotel reservation for my two day trip.  My first stop was in Arcadia, FL and I wasn’t too worried about the local Holiday Inn Express not having a vacancy.  It was the next night in Tampa that I had not planned for and I must admit I felt slightly anxious about heading to Tampa without having the comfort of knowing where I was going to stay for the night.

Too many people live their lives out the way I recently travelled, with no idea of where they are going at the end of their life journey.  Not only is there a heaven, but Jesus is busy making preparations for our arrival.  Heaven is not some destination paradise where we will spend a quick vacation; it is actually an eternal dwelling place where we will live in joyful fellowship with our heavenly Father and heavenly family.  

Since we know Jesus Christ has gone before us to prepare a place for us to stay, we can be confident that our ‘room’ is ready and waiting!

Do You Want To Know A Secret?

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29:29


As a parent, there are certainly a few "secrets" that we do not always share with the children. Christmas time comes to mind. What bout the occasions we have had to smuggle medicine into the kids food or drinks so that would feel better? The more I think about it, there are many things that we will probably never fully understand about God...secrets, if you will.




When we fully trust God's lead in our lives, we need to allow Him to direct our every steps, each and every day. If you are like me, you kind of like to know how things will work out, but with our Loving Father, not knowing the future and trusting Him the same are what's important in our walks of faith.


Whenever we find ourselves anxious about the future, or worrying, we must repent and return to God. There are many things we will never know or even begin to understand, but we must put our trust into the One who does know exactly what the future holds for us.

Let My Love Open The Door

Anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.  Matthew 18:4

Some days in my mind, I wish that I could just be a young child again; full of life, humility, innocence, and love.  What has happened to me?  As a married adult and father of two, I feel like I have more responsibilities than I could possibly begin to name here.  However, being a father has taught me a valuable lesson-the less I strive to bring honor to myself, the more God honors and blesses me.

Humility opens the door for God to work in your life because you are willing to seek His help and give Him the glory and honor.

Pride is true weakness, for it relies on your selfish and bloated ego.  True strength is in humility, for its effects reach deep into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Trust and Obey

"If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.  If you love me, you will obey my commandments.  Then I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever-the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it does not see Him or know Him.  But you know Him, because He resides with you and will be in you."  -Jesus Christ, John 14:14-24

As much as I profess to love Jesus Christ, I honestly feel like I don’t give Him my ‘all’ at times.  I could write a million daily devotionals about loving God and my outwardly projected image may seem good to others, but only God knows the true motives of my heart. 

We can go to church every time the doors are open, serve in ministry, go on mission trips, feed the homeless, teach Sunday school, and say all the right ‘Christian-sounding’ words, but the truth is that unless we are obediently following God's will for our lives, we are only following Him half-heartedly.

If we truly love God, we must stay grounded in His Word and obey His commands.  That last statement may sound harsh, but it's true.  Even if you are only reading one verse a day, make the time to meditate on His Word and stay faithful Him in love and allow Him to take His righteous place in your life.

The Boy With The Thorn In His Side

Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:24

Just like any married couple, Alicia and I have recently been at odds with each other this week.  Looking at all that we have going on in our lives at the present time is certainly contributing to our stress, not to forget the daily pressures of raising two children-both under the age of five.  The timing of this couldn’t have been any better with Ash Wednesday and now the time for introspect with Lent.   We have both been seeking God daily, even though many of the answers are not always clear, but we are both waiting patiently for God's direction in our marriage, with our children, at work, etc.

As we continue to dig deeper, I know that we will eventually come to the point of hearing God answer our questions and prayers with a "Yes, this is what is you need to do" or "No, you need to avoid doing this."

The only way we can achieve this kind of dependence on God's guidance is by staying in constant communication with Him through prayer and remaining grounded in His Word.

He wants what is good for us, but we truly have no way of knowing unless we move closer to Him to discern what His will for our life is.

What You Need

Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me under the shadow of Your wings.  Psalm 17:8

Have you ever received some unexpected money from a relative?  What about a generous tax return?  Or a bonus from your employer?  All of these are wonderful, but sometimes we forget that despite God using various people and resources to provide for us, that HE is the source.

When we remember our one truce source, it helps us to remain dependent on Him.  If you are at all like me, I sometimes confuse the actual gift with the giver.  It’s easy for us to focus our attention on the provision rather than our provider.  Unfortunately, when that happens, our loyalty and trust seem to shift as well.  When our loyalty and trust change, we begin seeking people and things rather than God.

We cannot forget that God is the source of everything we need; our spouses, children, family, friends, careers, and jobs are only means that God uses to meet the needs of our lives.