"Tossed or Sheltered?"

He calmed the storm to a whisper
    and stilled the waves.
What a blessing was that stillness
    as he brought them safely into harbor! 

Psalm 107:29-30 

 

I like storms.  Don't ask me why, just accept that I'm weird that way.  Storms tend to stir things up and can make a mess of everything, yet they can also clear away detritus leaving room to build or grow.  

 

The same applies to the storms in our own lives.  When they come, and they will, we can get caught up in them and let them destroy our peace, or we can accept them and let God deal with them. If we choose to let them control us we will worry, lose sleep, complain, get headaches, stomach aches, high blood pressure...all the things we don't need or want.  However, when we turn EVERYTHING over to Abba, we will experience the "peace beyond understanding" because we accept that He has a purpose for allowing our storms.

 

My Grampa once asked me, "How does all your stressing and worry help your situation?".  Honestly, it doesn't.  So why stress and worry?  Because we are listening to the whispers of our enemy who's main purpose is to get us to take our eyes off of our Abba!  We must be vigilant and give Abba everything!  Why? Well, consider this: It's all His anyway! 

Wasted?

 

The end of a matter is better than its beginning;

 likewise, patience is better than pride.

Ecclesiastes 7:8 

 

Believe it or not, I remember my very first day of school. Take a moment so the shock can subside.  The first day of school was rather exciting, but it soon turned into drudgery once the realization set in of how many years of my life would be spent in school, doing homework, and attempting to learn math.  When I finally graduated from seminary in 2005, I realized that I had been in school for most of my breathing days.  But that graduation day felt like a HUGE weight had been lifted from my soul. You see, when you finish something important to you, it is an amazing feeling!  However, when you start...it can be daunting, intimidating, frightening, and even overwhelming. 

 

When we begin life, we are helpless.  We have to learn everything! We have to learn how to feed ourselves.  We have to learn how to communicate with others. We have to learn how to interact with others.  We have to figure out how to earn a living. We have to learn how to maintain relationships. 

 

I have heard it said, "You exist every single day until you die...make every day a day you choose to LIVE!"  The last thing I want anyone to hear me say at the end of my life is "I wasted so much of my life."  When we are patient, and learn all we need to, that is SO much better than storming through life believing we don't need anyone to teach us anything because we already know all we need.

 

LIVE every day of this gift Abba has given you! Carpe Diem!

 

Forgiven? REALLY?

"Though your sins have stained you like the color red,
you can become white like snow;
though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet,
you can become white like wool." - Isaiah 1:18

Have you ever wondered if Abba truly forgives you?  I have.  I have wondered how He could love me so much that He would forgive me and give me another chance to mess things up.  But He does.  God is the God of second chances!

The Psalmist reminds us that Abba loves us so much that "As far as the eastern horizon is from the west, so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions from us." (Psalm 103:12).  And here's the best part, He does this every single time we confess and ask for His forgiveness!  He loves you just that much...and because of His love, we can love others.

 

How Do We Handle Strife?

 "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people."- Romans 12:18

If you've taken a look at the news, our country is in turmoil.  So much anger, hatred, and strife.  If we look ONLY at what's happening, we can easily forget that none of this has taken Abba by surprise.  Jesus told us: "In this world you will have trouble, struggles and strife. But take hope! I have power over the world!" (John 16:33).  Abba knew we would be a troublesome bunch before He spoke anything into creation. 

Now...WE have a choice to make: 1. Take part in the chaos, or 2. Follow Abba's example.  You see, Abba told us to focus on Him and because of that love would fill us and splash onto everyone around us.  Our enemy is doing his absolute best to keep us from focusing on Abba.  When we look at all that's going on in this country and world, we will begin to fear, get angry, and fall right into the enemy's trap.  However, when we continue to focus on Abba and learn to pray for others (in spite of themselves and in spite of ourselves) we will know the peace that surpasses understanding!  

Pray!  Talk with Him! Tell Him EVERYTHING that is on your mind and heart! Empty yourself to Him! And you will find it easier to be a peaceful witness. 

Respect? Even If MY Candidate Didn't Win?

Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. -Romans 13:1-2

When I was in grade school, my teachers taught us about respect.  We learned to respect our flag, respect our country, respect our parents, respect our government (even if we didn't agree with them), respect for our friends, respect for other people.  Why? Because that is what God requires of us!  How many times in Scripture are we told to love others?  How are we to love others? The same way we want to be loved.  

We don't have to agree in order to be respectful.  We don't have to agree in order to be courteous. We don't have to agree in order to be caring.  We don't have to agree!

Do you think Abba is EVER surprised by who gets elected or promoted or put into a position of authority?  Absolutely not. It is our responsibility to respect those whom God has placed in authority whether we like them or not, whether we agree with them or not, whether we like them or not.  And part of that respect is to pray for them!  While we're at it, pray for ourselves that we will be respectful.

Think about that!

 

Overthink Much?

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" - Matthew 6:25-27

We seem to have a habit called "Overthinking."  But we don't REALLY overthink things do we? 

'Well, perhaps."  "

Wait....not me!"  "

What have you heard?"

"Did someone tell you I was an overthinker? What did they say? How did they say it?"

This conversation would be extremely silly if it weren't true. We DO overthink! Then we begin to worry as the questions come faster and more intense; then we find we can't sleep; we can no longer focus; we become stressed; and eventually...depression and anxiety set in.

 We like to think things through from every angle and every direction until we think we've got it all figured out. Then what happens? All of our thinking blows away like smoke in the wind because what we figured out seldom works out as we thought it would.

Now, let me be absolutely clear as I address the face in the mirror: Overthinking is an IDOL! How? Because we become so incredibly focused on overthinking that we forget that Abba has already put everything in place.  ANYTHING, and I do mean anything, that takes our focus of of Abba is an idol! What do you think about that?

Another word for overthinking is WORRY! Look at today's passage: "Can all your worrying add a single moment to your life?"  Well....can it?  Worry adds nothing to our lives, instead it steals all the joy from our lives because we are so focused by our overthinking that we are blinded to everything Abba has given us.

Ask yourself this question when you are tempted to overthink: "Is Abba big enough to handle your situation or are we too small for Him to be bothered with us?"

 

 

 

Are We Blind?

 Now as Jesus was passing by, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who committed the sin that caused him to be born blind, this man or his parents?” ³ Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but he was born blind so that the acts of God may be revealed through what happens to him. ⁴ We must perform the deeds of the one who sent me as long as it is daytime. Night is coming when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶ Having said this, he spat on the ground and made some mud with the saliva. He smeared the mud on the blind man’s eyes ⁷ and said to him, “Go wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated “sent”). So the blind man went away and washed, and came back seeing.

John 9:1-7 

 

Yes, I realize today's passage is a mite long, but well worth reading and making a few observations.  

 

First, notice that when Jesus was asked whose sin caused the man to be born blind, Jesus said "Neither this man nor his parents sinned."  This probably stunned the Disciples who had been taught, by the Pharisees, that such ailments were the result of sin.  

 

Second, Jesus knocked them for a real loop: "...but he was born blind so that the acts of God may be revealed through what happens to him."  Now, I can hear it now, "Well THAT'S not fair!"  To us, it doesn't seem "fair," however, God has a purpose for everything and everyone.  This man was born blind so that at this point in this particular moment in time Jesus would heal him, proving that God truly is the one in charge.  When we go through difficult times, God has a purpose for our situation and it's to prove who is truly in charge.

 

Third, notice how Jesus chose to heal the man. "He spat on the ground and made some mud with the saliva. He smeared the mud on the blind man’s eyes." Why did Jesus choose to spit in the dirt, make mud, and smear it on the mans eyes?  Wouldn't His touch be enough?  Wouldn't it be just as effective for Jesus to just tell the man to "Be Healed"?  Think about this: God uses unusual means to create miracles. (Remember the 5 biscuits and 2 sardines?).

 

 

Blinded Mind

Satan, who is the ruler of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4

Have you ever wondered how people can be so blind sometimes?  Why they can't seem to see the damage and destruction caused by anger, hatred and apathy?  Why they can't seem to see the pain and suffering around them?  And why they can't seem to see anything BUT the pain and suffering around them? 

Let's face it, we live in a world where we have become blinded to the true glory of Christ.  You see, because we have become blinded, we choose not to look for the Light of Christ; we choose not to share the Love that is Christ; we choose not to share...anything.  

Because we have become blinded, we seek out the things that distract us FROM Christ: That new car when the one we have still gets us from point A to point B. That "Bigger and Better Job" because we would rather chase the money than establish our loyalty. We pass by people who need someone to listen, because we're "too busy."  We pass people who are hungry because it's "not my problem."  

Isn't it time we take off our blinders and seek the glory of Christ to share with others?