Always Something There To Remind Me

Remember the things I have done in the past.  For I alone am God!  I am God and there is none like me.  Isaiah 46:9

Periodically, and especially during adverse or difficult times, it’s easy to forget about the 'good' things God has done in our lives.  

When I struggle trust in God, it helps me to look back and remember just how He has worked in my life before, which, in turn, makes it easier for me to come to Him first when I need help in the present.

There are several ways, in addition to remembering the work God has done in our past, to help keep our focus on Him today…

When we have a sense of community-such as regularly attending church and Sunday School, or even joining a Life Group, we are more likely to share what God has done and is doing in our lives with others. 

Reading His Word also helps us to gain a perspective of how He has worked throughout history and His plans to share His many blessings with future generations.

When we try a few of these simple steps, we help ourselves acknowledge God’s hand in the past, present, and the future!

St. Judy's Comet

"Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching." Proverbs 1:8

Both of our sons are masters in prolonging the nightly process of going to bed.   We have heard a litany of reasons over the past couple of years-everything from tummy-aches to bad dreams, Pennywise from the Stephen King novel 'It' (clowns are scary; sorry!) to simply just needing to go to the bathroom for the hundredth time. The other night, around 10:13 PM,  I heard movement coming from the boys' hallway. When I finally went to check on the boys, I caught our youngest son, Elijah still awake and watching YouTube on his iPad.  He was somewhat embarrassed that I caught him sneaking around after we had put him to bed for the night, so I sat down on the edge of his bed and talked with him.  When asked what he was still doing up, He simply replied, “Daddy, I am not tired.”  In a calm manner, I suggested that he get back into bed so that Mommy didn't hear him and he finally fell asleep a few moments later.    

Just like children have trouble understanding the importance of a good night’s rest, we too are in constant battle with God for control over our lives.  And being a loving parent, God is always communicating with us and for us to hear what He is trying to tell us, we must seek Him above all else in our lives.

You see, anything we pursue without talking to God about first, will most likely be in vein.  We must allow the Light of His Presence shine on all of our pursuits so that we can receive His help for the plans He has made for us or allow Him to change the desires of our hearts.

If we seek Him first and foremost, the rest of our lives will fall into place!

Don’t You (Forget About Me)

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing you into a new person by changing the way you think.  The you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good pleasing and perfect.  Romans 12:2

Last week was another typically 'busy' week for me, but for whatever reason, I really struggled to reply to some personal emails I had received throughout the week and I felt guilty for not returning phone calls to a couple of friends who only wanted to catch up. 

Sometimes I feel like I have found the perfect balance in my life, and other times, I feel like the demands of my daily schedule are simply unmanageable.

Jesus modeled the perfect example of a life balanced between socializing and solitude, action and reflection, hard work and spiritual revitalization, and mission and meditation.  His pace allowed for Him to be guided by God’s perfect will instead of caving into the pressures of this world.  When you live a balanced life, you realize that every need and every opportunity are not necessarily the things God is calling you to do.

We must allow God to change our thinking to reflect His thinking and He will show us what to do and what not to do.  When we let Him direct our steps, we can then live according to His priorities and His will!

Under Control

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-which is your spiritual worship.  Romans 12:1

Our youngest son, Elijah, is into a variety of different things at the age of nine. In fact, Pokemon, Nintendo, Marvel and DC superheroes, and anything football and basketball.  Transformers are a mainstay and still 'all the rage' in the Fisher household and can be somewhat complex for a boy his age.  While the Transformers are totally awesome, the ones they make nowadays are sometimes even difficult for an old veteran like me to actually transform from a vehicle or aircraft mode to a robot and back... 

Just the other day, I was helping our Elijah transform his vast collection of robots and he grew impatient with me and wanted to help.  I kept telling him to be careful as he was forcing the plastic toy to where it would eventually break if he was not more careful.  After repeated attempts, he managed to break the arm off of one of the Autobots (the good Transformers) and was very disappointed.  I was eventually able to repair the broken toy and was also provided with the wonderful opportunity of teaching our son a valuable lesson.  In fact, I learned a little lesson from this incident as well…

You see, if you are like me, you have no problem giving God control over the ‘big’ or ‘important’ areas of your life.  I struggle, at times, to give God control over the small and day-to-day things.  I can face a number of situations and foolishly try and convince myself, “ You've got this, Will” or ”I can handle this on my own, God” and end up royally screwing everything up along the way.  Just like our son did with his broken toy, I will proceed to turn things over to God so that He can fix or repair the same things I thought I had under control. 

We must ask God to take control of our lives each and every day. One we have admitted our powerlessness and inability to manage our lives, we must come to a place in our faith where we decide to turn our will and lives over to God’s loving care.

Acknowledge the need for God’s guidance in our lives.  When He becomes our new manager, we must also choose to accept life on His terms as well.  God offers us a way to live that is free from our past, allowing us to enjoy new and wonderful experiences in accordance to His good and perfect will for our lives.  Thanks be to God!

Rescue Me

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’s hard for me not to feel a sense of peace and comfort when reading the above scripture from Psalms.

Simply stated, God loves us because he made us.  Contrary to some schools of thought, we are not just creatures that randomly evolved, but are instead created in God’s image so that we could have a relationship with Him.

God does not only want a relationship with ‘church people’ or the religious elite; but with ALL people.  Yes, you read that last statement correctly, the Creator of the Universe desires your love and friendship and is, in fact, pursuing it now...

We must stop running from Him and discover the purpose in which He made us.

(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding

A man's steps are directed by the Lord.  How can anyone understand his own way?  Proverbs 20:24

If you are at all like me, then you also want an understanding of things.  

For instance, at work, I want to be as prepared as I possibly can be prior to a meeting with a client or prospective client.  I don't like the unknown during a presentation or enrollment meeting in front of a group of employees.  

Another would be how I enjoy pondering the meaning of life; why things happen the way they do and so forth.  The more I learn about God's ways, the less I realize I truly understand...

Events that take place in our lives can be confusing at times.  There are many things that we simply may never understand whereas others fall into place and we will be able to look back and see how God worked in certain situations.  

The above passage from Proverbs assures us not to worry, even if we don't have all of the answers.  We must learn to accept that God knows what He is doing and learn to have complete confidence in Him, even if we don't have a clear understanding of His timing and design.

God's promises are real and they always work together for His good; despite our understanding!

Gotta Serve Somebody

"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat ; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink ; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'  "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink ?  'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?  'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'  "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' Matthew 25:34-40

God has really been working on the true motives of my heart lately.  What is my purpose here on this earth?  A lot of my energy revolves around family and friends; quite a bit is also focused on my career. And then there is the focus on 'me.'  I would like to change the world, but is it just another selfish want of mine to better my surroundings and ensure my own personal gain?

You see, the only goal of lasting value and fulfillment is actually serving Christ.  As followers of Christ, we should all aim to model our lives after Jesus and Him alone.  Christ, the King of all Kings, did not come to this earth to be served, but to serve.

When you look at what some believers have accomplished with God’s help, it’s truly remarkable.  The Bible is filled with stories of everyday people doing extraordinary things with God’s supernatural intervention.  We all like to make excuses for not tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit more often.  We may feel like we don’t have enough experience or we have the wrong set of skills for the task at hand, but we must remember that God will provide us with the right words to say, the ability, and the circumstances so that we can achieve all He wants done.

We must live our lives every day in such a way that we yield to God’s will and allow Him to provide us with what we need for today and today alone.