Love Action (I Believe In Love)

 

The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.  Psalm 103:13

I recently heard a powerful message about acting out our faith in our everyday lives.  Many believers have the basics down-most will praise God at church on Sundays, participate in Sunday School, and even donate money to honorable charities/ministries. However, as good and noble as those things are, many act as if God doesn't exist by the way they live out their lives the remainder of the week.  I have certainly been guilty of this at various different times in my walk of faith, but have recently felt the calling to become more active.

God shows his compassion to each of us be caring for us, providing for us, blessing us, and last but certainly not least, loving each of us.  When we become 'doers' of the Word, we fear and obey God and he forgives our sins, which restores our relationship with him.

When we obey God, it brings us to place of closer intimacy in our relationship with him which in turn allows us to extend mercy, grace, tenderness, and compassion to others!  Isn't loving people into a relationship with Christ what this broken world needs?

Victory Dance

 

O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me...But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high...victory comes from you, O Lord.  Psalm 3:1, 3,8

There are times that life can seem overwhelming; just trying to balance out being a husband and father while working hard to provide for my family is stressful enough, not to mention trying to maintain solid relationships with my family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.  When I feel like I cannot keep going, I often retreat to the Word to find the needed peace and hope to carry on....

God encourages us by letting us know that we should never be afraid because he we will act like a shield around us.  When you are afraid, it is easy to find courage in realizing just how powerful and mighty God is.  When you understand how great he is, the odds don't seem so impossible.

There is no enemy, trial or circumstance bigger than our heavenly Father.  He is all powerful and greater than any force against us!

It Might Be Time

 

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven....God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:1,11

I actually despise being late, contrary to what my wife would tell you. (She claims I am the slowest person in the world, especially when we are travelling or packing the car for a family trip, etc.) The worst part of it is that I am a slightly obsessive-compulsive person who attempts to do as much as possible, in a very limited amount of time, which, in turn, causes me to be late most of the time...Famous last words: "So much to do, so little time."

God's word is clear that our limited time on this earth will have an impact on our lives in heaven. God simply does not ask us to do everything, He only wants us to do everything He has asked us to do.

There are many great things that I have had to let go of and focus more on what direction God has asked me to go. The more time you spend discovering the unique purpose for which God created you, the more of a significant of an impact you will have on this earth during your lifetime!

Relax

 

Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, but an encouraging word makes it glad.  Proverbs 12:25

If you have ever struggled with anxiety, you know all about the worry, uneasiness, and feeling of heaviness that seems to also come along with it.  It is almost like a feeling of fear with no rhyme or reason...

Let’s face it, there are some pretty serious things going on in the world right now and we certainly need to be aware of them, but at the same time, we also need to learn how to lighten up, relax, and take things as they come without getting all nervous and upset. I realize that's easier said than done, but if you need to turn off the news because it stresses you out, turn it OFF!

God never intended for us to live such worrisome and stressful lives…if it were so, then Jesus’ death on the cross would not provide us with peace of mind and hope during this lifetime.

The next time you feel tempted to become anxious or upset, take a moment to think about all of the good things God has done in your life and find something to be happy about…God will fill your soul with sense of peace.

The Seeker

 

Those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.  Psalm 34:10

The Bible is filled with passages about seeking God, but what does that really entail?  I believe that it means to place our relationship with God above everything else in our lives.  It sounds easy, but let’s face it, life sometimes gets in the way with our relationships, especially what should be the most important-the one with our Loving Father.

Personally, I have been working on deepening my relationship with God, as of late.  I am attempting to seek Him more and more each day and put a priority on our relationship, and in just a short amount of time, my life has already been enriched in ways that I cannot begin to explain.

Regardless of what’s going on in our lives, if we are diligent in pursuing a daily relationship with the Lord, by obeying Him, following Him, and loving Him, we are putting Him first in our lives. The rest just seems to fall into place when we have our priorities in the correct order.

Picking Up The Pieces

 

He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.  Psalm 147:3

With two young men, ages 16 and 13, both play hard, both are athletic and are somewhat accident prone which tends to lead to the usual scrapes and bruises that come from being boys. Of course our teenager has graduated to the urgent care center a few times over the past few years, but I digress. 

There aren't too many minor injuries that cannot be healed by a Band-Aid and an ice pack or a laugh, but just thinking about the way we as parents tend to our children’s wounds is very similar to the way that God tends to ours as well.

God actually tends to our physical wounds and pains just as He heals our emotional wounds too.  There is no sickness, injury, or pain that the Great Physician cannot heal.

When God performs His healing in our lives, we find joy and others will rejoice in our healing.

Thanks be to God!!

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.