Sunday, June 30, 2019
Tragedy, Trauma, & Misfortune As A Test Of Faith
Are trauma, tragedy, and misfortune a
test of faith and obedience?
Yes, trauma, tragedy, and misfortune
are a test of faith and obedience. However, this answer is almost too easy, too
ready, and too superficial. This answer is too easy, for the question is not
complete. The real question, the complete question is, "Is trauma,
tragedy, and misfortune a test of faith and obedience FROM GOD"? Those
last two words, "FROM GOD", are the keywords. These words are the
stickler words. For in times of tragedy or misfortune the doubts and questions
about God mount and for many people the questions remain unanswered. The short
answer is "No!" for God is not in the business of hurting, killing,
and maiming. Notice in the book of Job, it was Satan who delivered the blows.
Saturday, June 29, 2019
ANSWERS THAT HELP
Psalms 4:1---Hear me when I call, O
God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have
mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
We all want answers. In every
circumstance, God has more answers than we have questions. At the very center
and core of our heart, God gives us constant access to His love, wisdom, and
answers. His wisdom gives us the answers we need. Many of the questions we ask
come about because we believe we are helpless over circumstances in our life.
In God's infinite wisdom and love, He readily shows us we are not helpless. In
God's infinite love, He readily shows us we are not hopeless. Within our heart,
God speaks to us and gives us all the answers we need. Within our heart, we
find His truth to help us over the mountains and through the valleys of life
each day. In His love, we are rendered silent for we have no questions compared
to His wisdom and love. Many times, as we think, meditate, and pray to God each
day, we find we have had His answers within us all along. We know He is
constantly answering us and helping us.
Friday, June 28, 2019
Responding To Bad News
Here is how people respond to bad news…
A. Some people say "Fine" when they hear bad news and they force a grin. However, these people are not fine. These people are the "Smiler's".
B. Other people respond with fear, panic, and emotional hysteria when they hear bad news. Their world comes crashing down. This response is not uncommon. These people are the "Wilters".
C. The victorious choice, when we hear really bad news, is grounded in our commitment to not let the bad news turn us into a victim. There are people who, when they hear really bad news, by their own decision, turn proactive. Upon hearing bad news, there are people who refuse to be victims because they decide not to be victims. Upon hearing bad news, there are people who make a decision to take charge of their life. Upon hearing bad news, there are people who make a decision to take charge of the experts. Upon hearing bad news, there are people who make a decision to take charge of their plans. Upon hearing bad news, there are people who make a decision to take charge of their objectives. Upon hearing bad news, there are people who make a decision to take charge of every possible moment. These are the people who make a decision to insist upon full information on every issue related to the bad news. These are people who make a decision to insist upon full participation in every decision made in the future. These are people who make a decision to use the challenge presented. These people are the "Chargers." These people are the eventual winners when bad things happen.
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Sacrifice And Letting Go
In our daily walk with God and for
God, God requires we make sacrifices. When Satan attacks us and we are in pain
or when Satan attacks us and we lose people, we must let go and sacrifice our
hurt to Him in order to heal. Letting go and sacrifice are in the same category
of yielding up our lives to God's love, to His will, and to His mercy. Even the
most traumatic of circumstances in our lives must be surrendered up or be given
to God so we may heal from those circumstances. Sacrifice is the main requirement
of our Christian faith. If you are willing to sacrifice your life for Christ's
life in you, you will be totally overwhelmed with his love.
In the Christian life, there is no
way to get more without becoming less. In the Christian life, there is no way
to heal from the traumas of life without surrendering, letting go, and
sacrificing our traumas up to Christ. When you are in pain, surrender
everything you are. When you are in pain, surrender everything you have. Give
everything to God and you will be blessed. The worst hurt in the world is not
letting go of what has been taken from you.
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
RECEIVING CHRIST'S PEACE
John 14:27---Peace I leave with you,
my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not
your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Our hearts are troubled or Christ would
not have told us to not let our heart be troubled.
We are indeed afraid or Christ would not
have spoken to us about our fear.
The rough seas of our life toss us
and turn us.
We lose focus in our life.
We cannot find our way home in the
darkness of our troubles.
Yet we have a giver of peace.
We have Christ Jesus who will never
ever desert us when we have a troubled heart.
We have Christ Jesus who will never
ever leave us when we are afraid.
In our troubles and fear, Christ has
brought us His great armor of love.
Within His great armor of love we
find peace in our troubles and peace in our fears.
The troubles of your heart have no
chance of surviving when touched by your Savior.
The fears of your heart have no
chance of winning out over you when you invite Christ into your heart.
You can have the peace of Christ by
surrendering and letting Him take your burdens from you.
Christ will always give you His peace
if you will give Him your troubles and fears.
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Religion, and Politics---Beware Of The Wolf
In 1960, 59
years ago, Dr. Billy Graham said that America was “founded by men who believed
in prayer” and that prayer can turn “the tide of history,” adding that while
“America is just as wicked as Sodom and Gomorrah” and deserves “the judgment of
God,” this judgment can be lessened through prayer.
He's also said
that 95% of the people who came forward in his years of crusades--aren't really
Christians.
I would say
a good portion of them are in churches now teaching another gospel than the one
I expounded.
The sin of
Sodom and Gomorrah was far less about sodomites than it was about the desire to
"control" the lives of others and force them into doing what they did
not wish to do.
It is a sad
fact that we live in a political world and it is no different today than it was
when Jesus was here and the Roman government was in charge.
Politics
have reached into every aspect of our lives even into our churches where little
Clicks Of Pharisee type people try to run things their way.
I was talking
with someone just a few days ago and they said to me, Preacher that is why you
see so many churches dying and closing their doors today Politics in the Church.
I was
sharing my faith with a young man just last week and he told me he didn't go to
church because the church was full of wolves who had to be large and in charge.
I knew in my
own spirit that this young man had been hurt, bitten by the wolf.
Friends
beware of the wolf, the wolf in sheep’s clothing represents himself or herself
as standing for one thing but ends up standing for another.
In your walk daily, you need to beware of persons who gossip.
Beware of
persons who, either want to know everything about everyone else’s business or who
actually, do know everything about everyone else’s business.
Beware of
those persons whose spirits are not meek and mild, and beware of persons who
easily reject advice.
Beware of
persons who rebel against leadership of any kind, and persons who come into a
group overly eager to help.
Now examine
yourself and see where you are in your walk.
ARE YOU THE
WOLF? I have one word for you REPENT!
When We Are Confined And Imprisoned Within Our Life
We may be confined and imprisoned by
the physical limitations and circumstances of our life. However, when we are
confined we can always choose the circumstances of our heart, mind, and soul. A
man's or a woman's ultimate quest in life should be to rise above their
physical limitations and circumstances. Our ultimate quest in our life should
be to live as fully as possible in spite of our circumstances. Each person's
ultimate victory in life is to live a full and fruitful life in heart, mind,
and soul regardless of physical limitations or circumstances. Some of us may
never be able to make the physical limitations and circumstances of our life go
away. We may always have to live with these limitations and circumstances.
However, when we choose to control and command the circumstances of our heart,
mind, and soul, then hope has a chance to flourish. When hope flourishes then
our life can flourish…no matter where we are or what the circumstances of our
life might be like.
Monday, June 24, 2019
Focus On The Task Not On The Score
When we think we are behind and we
keep looking at the clock or looking at the scoreboard, we are looking in the
wrong direction. When we focus on anything other than the task at hand, our
focus is not where our focus should be. When we focus on the task at hand, we
are dramatically more successful than when we are looking at the clock or the
scoreboard to see whether we are ahead or behind. If you keep looking at the
scoreboard and you see you are behind, you may get so dejected you put winning
out of the question. The objective in any circumstance defines what our next step
must be. Knowing the score may help us change our objectives but when we change
objectives we must still implement the tasks to be accomplished rather than
continually trying to determine what the score is or will be.
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Love Is
Love is the essence of God and is God.
Love is both the reflection of God through us and the reality of God in us.
Love is the force that holds atoms, electrons, quarks, and galaxies together.
Love is the force that heals broken limbs and broken hearts. Love is the power
that throws us into grief and the power that heals us from the pain of grief.
Love is invisible to the eye but visible in its manifestations. Love is simple
for a child but complex for an adult. Love is something you cannot hold in your
hand but can hold in your heart. We can say what love is not but we have
difficulty expressing what it is. Love is the force that holds your life and
your body together. Love is the force that leaves your body when you die and
love welcomes that force from your body when you enter Heaven. Love is the
creative force that creates works of art, literature, and music that glorify
God when those works are done within the will of God. Love is the force that
turns a sperm and an egg into a living being regardless of the circumstances of
the sperm and egg joining. The presence of love is the ultimate light in life and
love is the ultimate presence in the afterlife. Love is a power we cannot
control yet we must control ourselves to hold love. Love is God laughing at our
antics and it is His weeping at our sin and rebellion. Love has a cost of total
surrender to God. Love appears in ways we cannot see but we can know without a
doubt that love is there. Love came down to earth from heaven and we tried to
destroy Him, yet He came back to life, forgave us, and still calls us His own.
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Seeing Consequences And Taking Charge
To take charge of adversity you
must see the end result of what the adversity can do to you. You must see the
consequences of the adversity in your life. This ability to see into the future
with regard to the consequences of adversity will give you the ability to
make plans and devise ways of dealing with adversity now as well as into the
future. If you do not know what the adversity will do to you in the future, you
will not be able to take charge of the adversity. For example, if one does not
see into the future and understand how smoking cigarettes can cause cancer, how
drunk driving can kill people, and how drug addiction can destroy one's ability
to function, then successfully dealing with these issues will likely never
happen for the person who is blind to these consequences. We must accept the
reality of what adversity can do to us now as well as what the adversity can
do to us into the future. To lie to ourselves about what may or may not happen
puts us at a disadvantage when we try to take charge. To lie to ourselves cuts
us off from the truth.
Friday, June 21, 2019
Receiving The Spirit, Receiving The Truth
Acts 1:8--- But ye shall receive power, after
that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of
the earth.
The question about receiving the Holy
Spirit is too often asked by some persons who do not want to work too hard to
receive the Spirit. Too many people want the easy road to receiving the Spirit.
To really have a deep love, care, compassion, and energy of the Holy Spirit
alive and living in us requires we work. Some people want to believe the Holy
Spirit exists and we do not have to do any asking, seeking, or knocking. This
is a passive approach to our faith. This kind of passive, lukewarm, hands off, "objective
thought" regard for God is not what God wants. What God wants are people
pounding on His spiritual door seeking His truth.
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Your Value To God
Jeremiah 29:11--- “For I know the thoughts that I think
toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a
future and a hope”.
Too often you may look at others to
find your value in their eyes.
In truth, they cannot know you as
Christ knows you.
Whenever you are full of doubt,
misgivings, and feel inferior, you need to see yourself as Christ sees you.
Whenever you feel like you do not
count, the Lord will show you how much you do count in His eyes.
Whenever you feel like you do not
belong, Christ will help you see how much you do belong to Him.
Whenever you feel inferior, the Lord
will show you how He fully accepts you and loves you.
Whenever you feel like you are
nothing, the Lord will show you the wonders of His creation. He will help you
see how you are His most wondrous creation of all.
The Lord will help your spirit rise
into His heavenly realms.
In this hour, let the joy of your
salvation overtake all the sadness and grief you could ever feel.
Praise His name for all Christ is,
all Christ has done, and for the home, Christ has built for you in Heaven above.
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Beyond The Last Moment
Before Jesus
came to earth, humanity could not see past death. In many ways, we still cannot
see past death. We get reports about the after-life. We hear people recount
their near-death experiences or NDE’s, but we still know very little about what
we will experience beyond our last breath. We have no power over death. We
cannot change it. It happens to everyone. Death is the great leveler of
humanity. Every human will face an end. If we look at death only in a secular
way, death is a terrible tragedy for the person who dies as well as for friends
and loved ones of the deceased. However, as a Christian, you can see beyond
death. As a Christian, you can see glory beyond the last moment of this life.
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Loneliness
Human beings
are lonely creatures. We easily think we are the only person alive who knows
what we are going through. The presence of God in our heart and life is an
infinite presence. The infinite presence of God can totally obliterate the
loneliness we can feel. When we think we are alone, we are still surrounded by
God's infinite power, God's infinite love, and God's infinite wisdom. When we
look around and see no other person, we do not visually see God's infinite
presence. Yet, His invisible presence within us and all around us has no limits
and no bounds. His infinite presence in our heart and mind is as strong as we
are willing to let His presence be. We can know God's infinite presence within
us if we are willing to let our heart, mind, and soul be touched by His
infinite nature. The supernatural fact is we are never alone, we are never
without a companion, and we are never without a friend. Likewise, to have the
reality of Christ's presence, His companionship, and His friendship we must be
willing to be present with Christ, be a companion to Him, and be His friend.
The infinite presence of God in our life depends upon our willingness to walk
His path every minute instead of expecting God to walk our path. As we strive
to have infinite patience, infinite love for others, and infinite love for
Christ, we soon find we have the Lord's infinity within us. Our realizing the
Lord's infinite presence depends upon how infinitely desirous we are to be His
child and do His bidding. For it is not what God does for us, it is what we are
willing to do for Him that brings us the prize of His infinite and ever-present
love, kindness, and compassion.
Monday, June 17, 2019
Jesus Understands
Hebrews
4:15-16---For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the
feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet
without sin. Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may
obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
We can know
He understands us because we know He has walked in our shoes as a person. He
understands us and knows what we go through each minute because He lives with
us. He lives both within us and outside of us. In addition, no one can
understand us as He can. Even we cannot understand ourselves as He
understands us. He knows more about us than we will ever know about ourselves
until we see Him face to face. We have Jesus’ spirit alive in us. When we
recognize we have this person, Jesus, with us on the inside, this recognition
is the most profound step in our journey on earth. The recognition that Jesus,
God and the Holy Spirit is alive within us is so profound it is life changing
and life altering.
Sunday, June 16, 2019
A Guiding Light
A deep faith
results in our having a guiding Light in our life. This guiding Light, the Holy
Spirit, produces wisdom. Many of the decisions we make every day, even the
decisions of seeming insignificance, require wisdom. Wisdom is not something
with which we are born. Wisdom is acquired. Deep faith produces within us a
hunger to know about God and about how to live our life according to His
guiding Hand. Deep faith produces within us a starting point for acquiring
wisdom. Persons of faith should always want to do the right thing. We should
always want to do what God wants from us. As we hunger and thirst to do the
right and the smart thing, we acquire wisdom.
Saturday, June 15, 2019
Thanking Others
People often
feel ignored and unappreciated. We live in such a fast-paced environment with
our fast food delivered to us out of a drive up window we can forget the two
most important words people want to hear. The two most important words people
want to hear are "Thank You" said with real meaning and real
appreciation. Many of us do jobs or lead lives where others take what we do for
granted. In the same way, you live in a world where most people do not feel
anyone appreciates them or cares about them. Saying "Thank You" with
real meaning and real appreciation is a wonderful gift you can give each day to
many people who need to be thanked and appreciated. A small note or an email
sent thanking someone for their efforts helps keep the world intact for the person
receiving the appreciation. Although you may not be thanked or appreciated, you
can make up for your own lack of recognition by giving to others what they so
desperately need…appreciation. When you thank others, you are well remembered.
When you thank others in the sometimes uncivilized world we live in, you help
make the world a little more bearable for others. You lighten the burdens of
those who you personally thank.
Friday, June 14, 2019
What Victory Over Adversity Really Means
Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and
my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom
shall I be afraid?
Victory means healing. Victory means
winning out over adversities and afflictions. Victory means living this minute
to the fullest extent this moment will allow. Although we cannot live forever
in our physical body, we can live now. We can live and love as much as we can
fully live and love this instant. When we face adversities or afflictions,
these adversities and afflictions try to grind us down. Adversities and
afflictions try to diminish our moments. Adversities and afflictions try to
make our moments meaningless and hopeless. When we resolve and take action to
live out every moment IN SPITE OF the darkness of adversity and afflictions, we
are winners. Although we cannot always instantly crawl out of our
circumstances, we can still demand life from within ourselves. We can be
victorious when we can demand we get as much as possible out of every moment.
We can be victorious by asserting our inner life. We can be victorious by
making changes within.
Thursday, June 13, 2019
June 16---Angels, Death and the Afterlife
Death
A word or thought we do not like to think about.
This Sunday Morning at 11:00 Am I will continue to preach the series, God's Special Force, Angels.
The message for Sunday is titled, Angels, Death and the Afterlife.
The Bible has much to say about death and I pray if you are in our area you will come and hear this very important message.
A word or thought we do not like to think about.
This Sunday Morning at 11:00 Am I will continue to preach the series, God's Special Force, Angels.
The message for Sunday is titled, Angels, Death and the Afterlife.
The Bible has much to say about death and I pray if you are in our area you will come and hear this very important message.
Hope Within
Just as God
is within you, so is hope. Hope is within you because God is within you.
Whenever you think there is no way at all you can fix problems, get answers, or
climb over the obstacles of your life, look within you. You should not look
within you as some kind of meaningless exercise. You should look within you because of all the promise, all the hope, and all the great expectations that could ever
become from within your heart. Hope does not just pop into your head from a TV
commercial or even from these words you read on a computer monitor. Hope
appears in your life because there is within you this instant a great reservoir
of living hope called Jesus. All the good things, all the good thoughts, all
the good deeds, all the good imaginations that have ever been or will ever become from hope and hope is from God. Hope is within you because God is within
you. When you begin to think there is no way out, contact God within you and
realize there always has been and there always will be a way out with God. When
circumstances appear to be hopeless in your life, you may be facing the
greatest opportunity for hope to come alive that has ever existed in your life.
In the natural world, the most hopeless circumstance is when someone dies. In
the supernatural world, the greatest moment of hope is the moment just before
someone dies because, in the next moment, there is eternal life come to life.
Hopelessness turned into hopefulness is not confined just to death turned into
eternal life. Hopelessness is turned into hopefulness every time you reach
within your heart to God.
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Focus On The Task Not On The Score
Proverbs
4:25--- Let thine eyes
look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
When we
think we are behind and we keep looking at the clock or looking at the
scoreboard, we are looking in the wrong direction. When we focus on anything
other than the task at hand, our focus is not where our focus should be. When
we focus on the task at hand, we are dramatically more successful than when we
are looking at the clock or the scoreboard to see whether we are ahead or
behind. If you keep looking at the scoreboard and you see you are behind, you
may get so dejected you put winning out of the question. The objective in any
circumstance defines what our next step must be. Knowing the score may help us
change our objectives but when we change objectives we must still implement the
tasks to be accomplished rather than continually trying to determine what the
score is or will be.
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Consequences Of Thought
Joshua 24:15
“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye
will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other
side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as
for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Unfortunately,
too often, we worship the things of earth. Things of earth disappear at some
point through deterioration, demolition, being sent to the dump, thrown out in
the trash, burned, or destroyed in some fashion. Like the wrapping paper
collected after the unwrapping ceremony of Christmas, all the things of this
life eventually disappear. There are consequences to our thinking. There are
both immediate and future consequences to the kind of thoughts we have each
moment. There are heavenly consequences and earthly consequences to the
thoughts you hold in your mind this moment. When you hold thoughts about Christ
and His love and grace, love and grace are the consequence.
Monday, June 10, 2019
How Thoughts Expand
First, what
you think about gets larger or expands. What you think about expands out into
your heart, mind, soul, and body. What you think about expands out into all you
say, think, and do. What you think about expands out until your thoughts or
thought energy actually becomes your life or life experience. Second, thoughts
expand out and become expectations. Expectations determine your actions and
your responses. Third, you come to experience what you believe you will
experience, what you plan to experience, and what you prepare yourself to
experience. If you expect trouble from others, you often bring on trouble. If
you look for faults in others, you usually find faults. If you look for the
good in others, you usually find good. Fourth, most important of all, you can
choose your responses with your expectations of hope and well-being, or you can
choose despair and sickness. We move in the direction of our expectations.
Sunday, June 9, 2019
From God's Perspective
When you are
unsure of what you should do, try to see things from God's perspective. Try to
see things like God sees them. Try to see how God could take a situation you
are in and make the situation better or make the circumstance come out OK. Try
to see how you could open doors in a circumstance so God can do his work. In
other respects, God needs you to pave some highways on this earth. He needs you
to make straight the way, so others can follow. Even in very bad, desperate
circumstances, God can do great works but He still needs you to open doors,
pave roads, and Move Mountains for Him.
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Bringing People Together
Although the world is in great anguish over conflicting theologies and systems of religious
belief, God decided to bring some of His people together by sending Christ into
the world. What is truly amazing is the way God has brought people together.
God has brought people together by sending a baby, His only Son, into the
world. God had unlimited options about how to bring His Son into the world as
well as unlimited options about how He could bring people together. Although we
take it for granted, amazingly, God chose to have His Son appear to us in the
form of a newborn child. Over the last two thousand years, millions upon
millions of people have been brought together to worship, rejoice, and
celebrate the birth of Christ because God chose to bring people together in
this amazing way.
Friday, June 7, 2019
God Has Given You Direction
What talents
and traits have God given you? Most people have some idea of their talents and
traits. The talents and traits God has given you can be an indicator of His
will for your life. Your talents and traits are pointers you can use to measure
your hopes and dreams against God's will. If you are great in math and
accounting, God may need you to use your math ability to fulfill His will for
your life. If you are mechanically inclined then work or service in a
mechanical field may be God's will for you. God's will is like the wind. You
can either go with the wind or go against the wind. Walking is easier with the
wind at your back. Likewise pursuing hopes and dreams using your native talents
and traits is easier than pursuing hopes and dreams requiring you to use
talents and traits you do not have.
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Our Greatest Weapon Against Evil
The most
important job a communicator of the gospel has is to help the receiver of the
communication connect gospel truth to everyday life. In our reality, Satan
attacks every person's life. When a person is disconnected from others and
disconnected from God, Satan takes advantage of this lack of connection. When
people lead disconnected lives, everyday life easily turns into chaos.
Connected lives are fruitful lives. Connected persons live life on purpose, for
a purpose. Disconnected lives are full of problems. If our heart is totally
connected to Christ, our faith is unshakable. When our connection to Christ via
the Holy Spirit is unbreakable, we would forever walk in the glory and grace of
his presence. However, our faith is not strong and our connection to Christ is
weak. When our faith is weak, our connection to Christ becomes weaker, and we
end up in this downward spiral of losing what little faith we possess. For
persons who are Christians, Satan tries to attack our connection to God by
using adversity, pain, and suffering to weaken our connection to Christ. As
Satan attacks, connections begin to fade, and there is backsliding. We must
counter-attack Satan with prayer, meditation, humility, and an open heart to
Christ's redeeming love. A melted heart kneeling before the Cross is our
greatest offense against the evil one.
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Bad Times
Everyone has bad times in life. No
one is immune from adversity. For some people, the adversity may come late in
life and these people are devastated if they have never tasted adversity
before. For other people, bad times surround them at birth and adversity
follows them for life. We must understand bad times fall on a person's life
regardless of their race, creed, economic status, age, or origins. We must
never expect the good times to roll on forever. We must never expect good times
to come to us and stay forever. If we expect the good times to roll on forever,
we will be in shock when disaster strikes or bad times fall upon us. Our
willingness to admit bad times do happen enables us to prepare our heart, mind,
and soul in advance for what may come. Indeed, the person who prepares in
advance today for potential bad times in the future has a decided advantage
when bad times fall. In addition, the person who prepares in advance for bad
times has a greater sense of well-being and security during good times because
necessary preparations have been made. We must not delude ourselves into
thinking everything will be comfy and cozy in the future. A construction
manager in parts of the world where bad weather strikes should prepare in
advance for bad weather conditions. A person who needs to fight traffic jams
every day should prepare for adverse traffic by leaving at an appropriate time.
Knowing bad times may fall does not need to make us unhappy. Knowing and
preparing in advance for adversity can give us peace, happiness, and security
no matter what happens to us in the future.
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Victory Over Circumstances
Thank the Lord for the circumstances of your life. Even when you cannot see past the present moment of devastation, thank the Lord for letting you live, breathe, and have your being through Him. Humbly ask Him to give you power over circumstances seeming to defeat you and over which it seems you have no power. Ask Him, and He will empower you not to be a big person in the eyes of others, but He will empower you to be humble before them and before Him. Ask the Lord, and He will empower you to overcome the difficulty of these present circumstances by resting in His presence within your heart and life. Ask Him, and He will empower you because He knows you have so little power on your own. Ask Him, and He will empower you with His wisdom to decide what to do when it seems all options are gone. Ask Him, and He will empower you with His vision to see past this present moment to see your next moment full of His joy, His peace, and His encouragement. Ask Him, and He will empower you with the certainty of victory in His name. Ask Him, and the Lord will empower you to see the adversity you face is not as it seems, but is an opportunity to serve Him and be His humble child. Ask Him, and He will empower you to reach out and touch those who do not know Him and who need Him in their life. Ask Him, and the Lord will empower you to see, feel, taste, touch, and hear the power…the power of Jesus Christ, the Living Son Of Almighty God…the power of His Name that is above all names, the power of His thought that is above all thought, and the power of His presence called the Holy Spirit.
Monday, June 3, 2019
Responding To Bad News
Here is how people respond to bad
news…
A. Some people say "Fine"
when they hear bad news and they force a grin. However, these people are not
fine. These people are the "Smiler's".
B. Other people respond with fear,
panic, and emotional hysteria when they hear bad news. Their world comes
crashing down. This response is not uncommon. These people are those who wilt.
C. The victorious choice, when we
hear the really bad news, is grounded in our commitment to not let the bad news
turn us into a victim. There are people who, when they hear the really bad
news, by their own decision, turn proactive. Upon hearing bad news, there are
people who refuse to be victims because they decide not to be victims. Upon
hearing bad news, there are people who make a decision to take charge of their
life. Upon hearing bad news, there are people who make a decision to take
charge of the experts. Upon hearing bad news, there are people who make a
decision to take charge of their plans. Upon hearing bad news, there are people
who make a decision to take charge and pursue their objectives. Upon hearing
bad news, there are people who make a decision to take charge of every possible
moment. These are the people who make a decision to insist upon full
information on every issue related to the bad news. These are the people who
make a decision to insist upon full participation in every decision made in the
future. These are the people who make a decision to use the challenge
presented. These people are the "Chargers." These people are the
eventual winners when bad things happen.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Love In Times Of Temptation
Christ's love always empowers you to
do right, even while your temptation from the evil one tries to weaken you so
you will do wrong.
Christ's love always shows you the
way, even while your temptation from the evil one tries to blind you.
Christ's love always brings you to
the Light, even while your temptation from the evil one tries to take you into
the darkness.
Christ's love sends you upward, even
while your temptation from the evil one tries to pull you downward.
Christ's love brings you hope, even
while your temptation from the evil one tries to bring you despair.
Christ's love heals you, even while
your temptation from the evil one tries to wound you.
Christ's love enables you to do more
and be more, even while temptation from the evil one tries to disable you.
Christ's love brings all the parts of
your life and soul together, even while temptation from the evil one tries to
separate you.
Christ's love flows down and pours
over you from above, even while temptation from the evil one tries to destroy
you from below.
Christ's love remains forever, while
your temptation from the evil one disappears into the darkness from which it
came.
Saturday, June 1, 2019
Troubles In The Defensive Life
Trouble
in relationships is like a fever in the body. Trouble in relationships is an
indicator something is wrong and needs changing, treatment, attention,
diagnosis, and some kind of action on your part. Someone who lives a defensive,
dependent life crumbles when threatened. A threat casts the defensive person
into despair. Living a defensive and dependent life creates faulty
relationships one after another. Defensive people defeat themselves with their
own defenses, always trying to justify themselves. This is how the darkness
threatens and keeps the defensive person captive. However, when we are
ultimately threatened we often let the defense rest or let the defense down.
Then we can let the Light of God's redeeming love work within our heart and
life. People grow to be defensive because they have been hurt or deprived. Even
when people are hurt by accident, the way people handle the accident, as well
as how they use, build, grow, and heal from the accident is determined by
whether a person chooses to live in the darkness or live in the Light after the
accident happens.
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