Stormy Monday

 

Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.  Psalm 37:5

When I read the story about the disciples who were on the boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, who panicked and were fearful of the storm that engulfed them, I am reminded of the seasons in life where God wants me to trust Him and patiently wait on His blessings.  

We are all familiar with how Jesus walked across the water to the disciples and calmed the storm with a simple command.  His words made the violent waves and wind to be tranquil again.

What an analogy for us to recall during life’s greatest storms.  The disciples on the boat learned to trust in Him during the most terrifying of situations and even in the worst possible situation that you and I may face, He is waiting for us to reach out and take His outstretched arm.

The Heart of the Matter

 

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.  Ephesians 4:32

Our youngest son, Elijah, has been learning some valuable life lessons recently on forgiveness.  It seems tough in our house with two boys, but I digress. In the best way that I could possibly explain to a rising 6th grader, I told him that we all make mistakes or bad choices that hurt other people’s feelings at times.

Forgiveness as I understand it, means letting go and letting God.  Sometimes, we may not receive the apology we seek from someone who has hurt us.  In those instances, we must turn that situation/conflict/person over to God and let Him deal with it.  When we turn it over to God, we must trust Him to handle things His way and NOT our own.

It makes no difference if someone asks for forgiveness or not, we must learn to extend forgiveness at all times.  Too often, I have held onto my hurt feelings for long periods of time, often escalating the issue/conflict and as a result, causing myself more sorrow than it's worth. 

The sooner that we forgive, the sooner that God begins His good work and the healing process in us.

Turn On Your Lovelight

 

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.  Proverbs 23:7

Before making a cold call to a prospective customer, sales experts say to ‘smile’ while on the phone or the person on the other end of the line will detect that you are less than enthused about making the call and your sales results will be dismal.  Just like smiling on a cold call, our thoughts can affect other people around us in a profound way.

There have been times in my life where my people in my circle of family and friends have made me angry or upset and rather than discussing the issues openly, I allowed them to well up on the inside, which ultimately impacted my thinking and the way I acted around them.

You see, if we think loving thoughts about others, we become loving individuals, but if we are thinking negative thoughts, it is near impossible for us to act in a loving manner towards others.

We are all called to be a blessing to other people and love them into a relationship with Jesus Christ.  If we can learn to control our inner thoughts and love more with our thoughts, we will be more loving as individuals, and love is what this world needs now more than ever!

Roll With It

 

We are assured and know that all things work together and are for good to and for those who love God and are called according to His design and purpose.  Romans 8:28

Our youngest son, Elijah, said something to me the other day that got me to thinking...very innocently, he said, “Granddaddy is so old that he knows everything!”  With a smile on my face, I kindly corrected him and said something to the effect of: “as wise as his granddaddy is (and he is far wiser than me), we all will continue to learn new things each and every day the rest of our lives on this earth, even him too.” 

I still learn something new each and every day in my walk of faith, and agree with the apostle Paul in stating that all things are certainly not ‘good’ but somehow all work together for good.  God is continually working on me giving up the control over my life so that I understand that His ways are far better.

When things don’t go as we planned, we can let things fall apart, or we can roll with it.  It’s hard to relax and let the chips fall where they may, but I am a firm believer that all things work for God’s greater good and we will never fully understand or grasp why certain things happen the way they do.

Trust that God’s design is better than your own and let Him work out the details of your life-He always knows what is best for each of us!

Listen Up!

 

Come and listen to my counsel.  I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.  Proverbs 1:23

Just like I grow frustrated when our sons don’t mind or listen to me, I am sure God feels the same way about me when I fail to seek His infinite wisdom and listen to what He is trying to tell me.  God promises us that we will become wise if we listen to Him.

Here are three simple ways to listen to God better:

1.) Read the Bible.  God’s Word is not just a collection of stories, it’s is the living and breathing Word of God and it should become the instruction manual for our lives.

2.) Pray.  Our prayer life should not just be filled with a laundry list of our requests and petitions; they should include being still and quiet and listening for God to talk to us.

3.) Seek godly advice.  A wise man learns from others and the same principle holds true in listening to what other people who have gone before us are willing to share about their lives, mistakes, and heartaches.  

Desire

 

There is none upon earth that I desire besides You.  Psalm 73:25

Regardless of whether you are married, divorced, dating, broken up, in a relationship or not, we all have the need to be loved.  We can really find ourselves in trouble when our needs for intimate love go unmet and we begin to feel isolated, estranged and unfulfilled. Often times, these unmet feelings for love are confused with sexual desire, but they are much deeper than just a physical want or desire.  We are all created with the need to have a love that is unconditional, peaceful, and consistent and only God can provide this never-ending love.

I know what it is like to be trapped in a relationship where you feel like your significant other doesn't know the “real you” or doesn't love you unconditionally for who you "really" are.  It’s a hopeless and lonely place to be, but the good news is that we ARE all loved by the One who knows us inside and out.   In fact, He knows the “real you” and will never stop loving you.

Just like the Spiritual vacuum that we have in our souls that can only be filled by Jesus, the same holds true for love and only God can provide us with the love that we need!

Judgment Day

 

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.  For you will be treated as you treat others.  The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.  Matthew 7:1-2

With the latest news headlines and outpouring of public opinion on social media, I wanted to write today about the dangers of judgment.  We must be careful to judge others, because, it is simply not our place to do so.  I have had my fair share of people make unfair evaluations about me and I know that I have wrongly done the same to others throughout the years. I fear we are headed into a dangerous place where people are intolerant of others that hold a different opinion from their own and quite frankly, this scares me.

Before we jump to conclusions about others, it helps to recall the hurt we have experienced in the past when we were wrongly judged.  It helps us to avoid looking at people through a negative filter that gives us a distorted point of view.

It’s when we see others as Jesus sees them-as God’s children-that we begin to offer love, grace, and mercy rather than judgment. Just because we don't agree with someone doesn't mean that we cannot get along with them...