Archive for April, 2011
Woah, It Could’ve Been Me!
Posted by: | CommentsAre you like Lot’s wife who looked back at her problems and turned into a pillar of salt? Or are you like Paul who learned to be content in whatsoever state he was facing?
In Job 10:15, Job cried out Woe unto me. That means he was sad, distressed, and discomforted over the trials and tests that he faced.
Many times in the trials of life, we have a tendency to look back at the problems we face. When storms arise, we tend to magnify our problems instead of magnifying our God.
A natural law of attraction says that whatever you focus your time and attention on is what you’ll acquire more out of life. In other words, if you focus your energy on what’s wrong in your life, you strengthen the ability to find more things wrong. However, if you focus your efforts on looking at the positive aspect, or the things that are going right in life, then you’ll notice that you find more and more other things that are going right also.
In Genesis chapter 19, Lot and his family were given specific instructions while escaping Mount Sodom. They were told to run and do not look back at the destruction of the city otherwise they would be turned into a pillar of salt. And sure enough as they escaped Lot’s wife, Edith, turned and looked back and indeed she turned into a pillar of salt.
You may be facing a current trial or dwelling on issues of your past. But I encourage you to look forward towards the future. Instead of crying out like Job saying, “Woe it’s me” try Read More→
Be Open to a Higher Way of Thinking
Posted by: | CommentsOften times we don’t understand the ways of God. When reading the scriptures, we might say to ourselves, “well that doesn’t make sense, why would I pray for someone who persecutes me” such as Matthew 5:44 indicates.
To the natural man, this doesn’t make sense. That’s because we’re trying to reason it with our logical mind. We have to remember that when it comes to God, we can’t compare His Word against that of the natural mind.
Isaiah 55:9 says, “For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” That means, that we can’t comprehend the ways and thoughts of the Lord. His thoughts are on a higher plane. He sees the bigger picture.
You see with man, logically four plus four equals eight. You can go down the street and ask your neighbor what four plus four is and, if they know their arithmetic, they’ll tell you it’s eight. You can go across the country and ask what four plus four is, they’ll tell you eight. You can even go overseas and ask what four plus four is, they may speak a different language, the numbers may look different but when it all comes down to it, their four plus four will equal eight too.
Here’s the thing, God’s four plus four may very well equal sixteen– or thirty-two- or anything else but eight. Why? Because His logic isn’t the same as our logic. His ways are above ours ways.
Come to think about it, if God’s ways were the same as man’s, you and I wouldn’t be alive today. God would have taken us out long ago. But because of the forgiving love of Christ (which by the way doesn’t reason with the logic of man) you and I have the right to a tree of life. We may not understand His grace and mercy, but it’s those same mercies that wakes us up everyday.
So next time man tries to sum you up with the logic of this world, contradict that equation Read More→
ShareYou’ve Been Made Anew!
Posted by: | CommentsBehold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, [and] rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19
There are times when we dwell on our past wrongs and mistakes instead of embracing the future that God has in store for us. When this happens we forget about the grace that God has shown us when Christ was born.
I’m reminded of the passage in John chapter 5 where Jesus was teaching in the temple. As a crowd began to form, the pharisees and teachers of the law brought forth a woman and stood her in front of the crowd.
They said to Jesus, “This woman has been caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” Their intention was to trap Jesus and get Him to say something that they can use against Him. But what gets me is Jesus’s response.
Jesus said, “Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.” And when the accusers heard this, one by one they began to walk away. Then Jesus said to the woman, “Where are all your accusers? Did not even one of them condemn you.” She said “No, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go, and sin no more.”
This story reminds us of the Grace that came with the Holy Spirit. It lets us know that we’re not enslaved to our past. The good news is, that even though we were all born into Read More→
ShareYou Have An Inheritance!
Posted by: | CommentsMany times, we get caught up in looking at our current situation. In the interim, doubt comes in and takes it toll. It’s this doubt that causes us to get discouraged and lose all hope.
However, I want to encourage you, my friend, that as long as you have faith in God, you will receive that which is due to you. Too often, we read the scriptures and say to ourselves, “How does this work for me?” Well, much of it comes down to the covenant God made with Abraham.
Abraham, was counted as righteous in God’s eyes. Even Paul stressed in his letters that Abraham was counted righteous in God’s sight simply because of his faith in God. (Galatians 3:6)
Abraham was given many possessions, land and an inheritance! Imagine that your parents were given access to many luxury cars, properties and businesses, and lots of cash and jewelry. And in their will they included that these possessions are to be passed down to you.
Well the good news, my friend, is that we are all heirs of Abraham. We are entitled to this inheritance because of the Covenant that God made with him. God promised Abraham, that if he just remained faithful, that all of his descendents, including you and I, will receive Read More→
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