Okay…
What is your reaction when you arrive at a problem in your life without knowing exactly what to do?
If you’re anything like me or the man in this video then you’ve been guilty of the following:
1. Staring at the problem for a period of time
2. Realizing you’re ignorant of what to do, and then…
3. Moving forward anyways!
This system typically creates a mess, which can potentially effect others around us.
So why do we create messes in these situations? One word, “Pride”.
- We don’t want to admit we’re ignorant.
- We don’t want to show our ignorance by asking others for advice.
- We can be impatient with God’s timing.
So, here are my questions:
- In what areas do you need to be seeking wise counsel?
- Are you pleading for God’s wisdom?
- Are you waiting on God’s timing?
- Do your actions show trust in God?
He wrote a blog recently titled, “Preparation H and Confession”. And let’s just say that it greatly challenged me. So I thought I’d share. Click on the title [...]]]>
Perry Noble is the senior pastor at Newspring Church in South Carolina. And I absolutely love reading his blog. It’s refreshing, uplifting, challenging and convicting. Plus, he’s hilarious!
He wrote a blog recently titled, “Preparation H and Confession”. And let’s just say that it greatly challenged me. So I thought I’d share. Click on the title to read.
To repeat a key question from the blog:
“So…do you have people in your life to whom you can talk with…REALLY talk with…about what is going on in your life?”
I recently witnessed two children combine to win a whopping 5 stuffed animals from one of those money-sucking claw machines. After their conquest with the one-buttoned joystick they laughingly said to each other, “That machine wasn’t a rip-off at all!” Would the next kid that walked up share the same success? Probably not. Seasoned gamblers know this fact all too well.
But isn’t it funny when we find pleasure in things of this world with no immediate repercussions we think, “Hey, there was nothing bad about that! In fact, I enjoyed it!”
So since we found satisfaction in earthly pleasures once-upon-a-time we allow ourselves to go back for more at a later date. And we eventually find that no matter how many times we plug a dollar into this world’s machine looking for joy…it just AIN’T gonna happen dude! It’s temporary. It’s fleeting. And it’s never enough.
Hopefully, we can be “stuffed” so full of God that the desires of this world fade away. Only He can give us everlasting love, assurance, peace, fulfillment and purpose.
]]>Those who lie to themselves make it easy to have pity on themselves. How? Because if you constantly lie to yourself then you can alter anything you wish into truth.
So when something that is actually truthful pops [...]]]>
Those who lie to themselves make it easy to have pity on themselves. How? Because if you constantly lie to yourself then you can alter anything you wish into truth.
So when something that is actually truthful pops up and really hurts your feelings (because truth hurts), then you can feel sorry for yourself. What to do next? You lie to self in order to cover over the truth.
So it’s a double-bonus! You get to pity yourself, and you get to believe your lies! And an added sweetener is that there is no regret or remorse for having ever lied to begin with. Why? Because it was all solved by what you’ve grown accustomed to doing…LYING TO YOURSELF! So now you’re comfortable because your good friend LIE has taken care of everything and you actually believe it!
And in the meantime, Satan giggles as we deceive ourselves of our true spiritual state. God, please reveal to us through your Spirit when we lie to ourselves.
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Man I woke up hungry today! There was some added excitement by the fact that I had a new box of Wheaties calling my name, but I was hungry. That of course got me thinking about my hunger for more of God and just thought I’d throw down some of my thoughts:
- We are all created with an inner hunger for God whether we ever acknowledge that it’s Him our soul desires or not. It’s part of His imprint on His creation.
- I hunger for more of His life-giving Word, but in times of “self-feeding” from the things of this world I can tend to forget about God’s diet plan for my life because I’ve become so full of myself. So…
- I MUST empty myself in order to understand just how much I need Him. If I’m not hungry for Him, then it’s a hint I’ve filled myself with something else that never truly fills me anyway.
- Cheesy quote… God is the Breakfast of Champions! Ha!
- If I’m not HUNGRY FOR MORE then I’m probably trying to hang on to LESS and claim that it’s enough to get me by for the sake of not having to become more OBEDIENT to His will.
Do you have anything to add to the list? I love hearing other’s thoughts!
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One of my 14-month old daughter’s favorite activities is a simple game of chase. She can be so overcome with joy and laughter that she loses any shred of physical control and just plops to the floor. As I was chasing her this evening I told her out loud, “You are so much fun to chase, Allie”.
Not only is it fun to chase my children, but they are also worthy of the chase. I take just as much joy in the pursuit as they do in the chase.
And during the chase tonight I was reminded by God of how much He takes pleasure in pursuing me. And how I should take great pleasure in pursuing Him in return. As a father I pray that my children will take delight in the fact that the God of the heavens and earth is in constant pursuit of them.
Other thoughts:
- I pursued Pat until she became my wife, and I continually pursue her. Am I pursuing Christ even more?
- I believe my daughters are incredibly valuable and worthy to be pursued only by the most incredible young men in their futures. It’s an honor to know that God sees even greater value in them than I could imagine.
- Am I encouraging my wife and children to pursue Christ?
- Awareness of God’s pursuit brings the reality that I am constantly in need of conforming to His will. And His will is so much better than my own.
Jesus said in John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
Based off of [...]]]>
Jesus said in John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
Based off of that, Chambers suggests the following:
“It is far easier to die than to lay down the life day in and day out with the sense of the high calling.”
And, “It is difficult, and thank God it is difficult. Salvation is easy because it cost God so much, but the manifestation of it in my life is difficult.”
Frankly, it doesn’t sound that exciting or motivating to lay down my life. And I agree with Chambers that daily laying my life down is difficult. But then Jesus said in verse 15, “I have called you friends”. The Creator calls me His friend, and it’s not because He needs me. God loves me. And I get to be His friend today.
On that note, I leave you with the popular & hilarious “Jesus Is My Friend” by Sonseed.
The China Daily newspaper recently released family planning statistics once considered secret that only boggle the mind. Here’s the article from the Associated Press.
The newspaper reported “that about 13 million surgical abortions are performed in Chinese hospitals and 10 million abortion pills are sold every year.” The surgical [...]]]>
Pray for China. No really. Pray for China.
The China Daily newspaper recently released family planning statistics once considered secret that only boggle the mind. Here’s the article from the Associated Press.
The newspaper reported “that about 13 million surgical abortions are performed in Chinese hospitals and 10 million abortion pills are sold every year.” The surgical abortions alone are equivalent to aborting the entire current population of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Nebraska in a single year.
The most heart-breaking fact, however, is at the end of the AP article that states: “The government says its family planning controls — sterilization, contraception and abortion — have prevented an additional 400 million births over the past three decades.” And that would be aborting the entire United States since the ’70s. Hard to even comprehend.
I’m at a loss for words, so I’ll simply and strongly say again, “Please pray for China”.
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Philippians 2:5-115Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. ]]>
The thought that’s been going through my mind over the past month is this:
“Based off of my actions, how am I teaching my children to worship God with their bodies?”
Since my body is a [...]]]>
The thought that’s been going through my mind over the past month is this:
“Based off of my actions, how am I teaching my children to worship God with their bodies?”
Since my body is a temple and their body is a temple, they are going to learn how to worship God in the same ways I act out my worship. What kind of facial expressions should God’s temple make? What tone of voice? What words? How do I physically treat God’s temple?
It’s humbling every time I get a glimpse of how powerful my choices are to those who are watching me.
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