You're Dreaming

Good Morning,...Let's Start This Week By Adjusting Our Focus!! Way too easily, we allow our priorities get out of sync with God. We just need to take a moment to reflect, and evaluate our passions and what we're truly seeking. It is easy to drift from our purpose, and discover that our aspirations have changed,...as we've become more entwined with the cares as well as the pleasures of this world. Quite possibly we have allowed them to possess our hearts, thoughts, and time.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. —Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

If after sincere evaluation God is not at the top of our list of priorities, something certainly needs adjusted. We need to ask if we are really willing to surrender all,...our hopes, dreams, and accomplishments to God. We need to acknowledge that each success is a result of His work, and that our dreams will never come true until we are willing to lay them down, and seek His wisdom, and embrace His truth and vision.

God is our hope and in Him we will find all that we long for,...and greater things than we can possibly dream.

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We may not always understand the path we're on, but we can trust in God,...and commit our hearts to following His ways

"Believing Christ died, that's history,

...believing Christ died for us, that's salvation."

Only By His Word

Good Morning!! How does one turn their life around? Find their path, and purpose, in life?

Once we've moved past the point, that so many young people struggle with,...questioning authority and wondering why mental, emotional, and physical purity is so important,...we know that we are sinful and foolish before a Holy God. We stop questioning the need to cleanse our ways,...but then begin to seek the best means to accomplish this.

How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your Word.—Psalm 119:9 (MSG)

And just how is it to be done? By taking heed to,..and by internalizing and personalizing, the Word of God. On one hand this may be disappointing, if you hoped for a more entertaining, less demanding solution. Nothing less than starring into the mirror of God's Word, will show us the genuine flaws in our character and mindset. But on the other hand, it's greatly encouraging. The solution we seek is so readily available! We don't have to climb to the top of a mountain in Tibet, or have a certain social or religious pedigree, or attain some academic status, in order to know and understand how to purify our life, and be more pleasing God.

The solution is simple, but it's not easy.
Take heed to, study hard, God's Word, the Bible. Make His wisdom your own, and live by it.

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Father God, help us to unlock the wisdom and power of Your Word. And give us the strength to live by It. In the name of Jesus Amen.

"When you begin to align your goals with God's goals, and your desires with God's desires,

...you will rid your life of anger, anxiety, and depression."

(Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ, November 9, 2004)

You Are LOVED

Good Morning!! What words come to mind when asked to describe yourself? Sometimes we might define ourselves by listing our failures and our negative traits. But God has a different perspective! If we are followers of Christ, this is how God sees us;

We say: I'm a failure. I can't do anything right.
God says: You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Philippians 4:13

We say: I still feel guilty about things I've done in the past, even through I've confessed it all as sin and don't do it anymore.
God says: I blot out your sins and remember them no more. Isaiah 43:25

We say: Sometimes I feel so unlovable. How can God possibly keep on loving me?
God says: God says nothing can separate us from His love. Romans 8:38-39
We say: I tend to be such a fearful person.
God says: The righteous are as bold as a lion. Proverbs 28:1

God calls us beloved. He sees us as righteous, chosen,...and forgiven. He sees us as His treasures,...His children.

I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels.—Isaiah 61:19 (NLT)

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Lord, thank You for clothing us in the righteousness of Christ. Help us not to think too lowly, or too highly, of ourselves,...but to see us as You see us. In Jesus' name Amen.

"When you begin to align your goals with God's goals, and your desires with God's desires,

...you will rid your life of anger, anxiety, and depression."

(Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ, November 9, 2004)

Love, Must Always Be At The Base

Good Morning, My Friend!! Did you know; even God's law can be twisted to our harm? Well it can,...if we allow the rules to become more important than the relationships they are designed to serve. I've always thought of myself as more Spiritual, than religious. That is to say; Thanks to my grandmother, I feared and respected God,...even before I started learning the Rules.  Never confuse an obsession for rules-keeping with a hunger for righteousness. God's bottom line is always love.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.—Romans 12: 9,10 (NIV)

God's law is grounded in love. The Ten Commandments are not random rules from a whimsical deity, but are precisely the parameters of behavior within which God's children will thrive and prosper. When we misunderstand the role of rules, we can easily regard their strict enforcement as righteous,...and be so very wrong, and unloving.

God wants us to flourish, and he gave his law to show us how.

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We should love God's laws,...mainly because it instructs us how to love others.

"When you begin to align your goals with God's goals, and your desires with God's desires,

...you will rid your life of anger, anxiety, and depression."

(Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ, November 9, 2004)

Pray Up, Stay Up

Good Morning, GOD Loves You!!...Pass It On. How many times do we begin our prayers with whining and complaining, about our need or situation,....instead of praying with faith, anticipation and thanksgiving to God, for what we know He is about to do? Surly we must know by now that;God is not moved by our begging and pleading,...but by our faith the mountain is removed.

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations:—James 1:2 (KJV)

Your muscles get stronger the more you use them,...so does your faith. It's the working and trying of our faith, that produces in us, the resolve that will see us through, and keeps us from being swayed by our circumstances and situations. Faith that believes beyond what is seen, to what will be,....is developed through a constant testing.

"Everyone is asked to endure some things that bring discomfort, pain or sorrow. This is yours.

Accept it.  Carry it.
I will give you the grace to endure it."

(One Thing, Sam Storms, p. 100)

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   " God's desire isn't to minimize your life and it's struggles or disappointments.

His intent is for you to gain hope, knowing that nothing can wrench you from the loving arms of a God like this! "

(One Thing, Sam Storms, p. 100)

"When you begin to align your goals with God's goals, and your desires with God's desires,

...you will rid your life of anger, anxiety, and depression."

(Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ, November 9, 2004)

The Blocks, The Walls

Good Morning, There Is A Wonderful Week Ahead Of You,...Don't Just Imagine It, Claim It!! If there is a wall in your life,...one keeping you from moving ahead, up or on,...it's not supposed to be there. You may have accepted it as a fact, that it would always be there,...but it does not have to. It may be hard to imagine how it would ever come down. But God doesn't know anything about unmovable walls. For example. The Jewish people had been in captivity in another land for 70 years, living under the rule of the pagan King Cyrus. It was hard to imagine how they would ever get back home. Gods been tearing walls down for a long, long time!...and yours is no exception.
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:—Ezra 1:1 (NIV)
Walls. Impossible walls. Things that look like they will never change. God specializes in these kinds of things. And right now, He's calling you to believe Him, to pray to Him in faith, for the wall in your life to come down. Whether it's a wall in a relationship, a person who seems like they will never come to Christ, maybe a son or daughter who looks like they will never leave their prodigal ways, people who are standing in the way of something God has shown you,...any wall that stands in the way of the will and the working of God. Come against that wall in prayer, unleashing all the power of God on that wall. Pray especially for hearts. God's wall-demolishing miracles often begin with the miracle of a heart changing that only God can change

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No matter how high the wall, no matter how long it's been there, it is not unmovable. If God wants it gone and if you'll believe Him for it, that wall is coming down!

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Saul of Tarsus was determined to stamp out Christianity before it spread,...God changed the heart of the persecutor into the heart of a disciple of Jesus (now known as Paul) ,...in a moment.

"When you begin to align your goals with God's goals, and your desires with God's desires,...you will rid your life of anger, anxiety, and depression."

(Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ, November 9, 2004)

If You Really Care, Show It

Good Morning, T.G.I.F. Thank God I'm Forgiven...It's Been A Great Week!! Respect for others is the most essential trait, that one can posses. Respect is reciprocal; " What goes around comes around." In other words, if you want to be respected, you must respect others. If you don't give it, then you won't get it back. People know when you value and respect them,...and they know when you don't. You can't hide disrespect. People understand your attitude instinctively,...even when they can't put it into words.

And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.—Exodus 2:25 (KJV)

In a society obsessed with social status and wealth, it's important to recognize that we all fall short of meeting God's standards. None of us can respect another person if we think we're morally superior. But remember this: Jesus saved his harshest criticism for religious hypocrites,...for those people who respected no one but themselves.Think of all the people with whom you come into regular contact,...family, friends and colleagues. They all touch your life in some unique or special way. How many of those people know that you respect them for what they do and who they are? You may admire them and need them,...but have you said so? Tell them. Show them. Give them the respect they deserve. Make your respect for them tangible. It's what makes the world go round.

Every person is a human being created in the image of God with a purpose and place in life.

If we operate by this standard, we dignify others. We show them respect.

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" People always pay more attention to how you live than to what you say.

Remember that when you desire to speak into the lives of others."
(Running with the Giants, John Maxwell, p. 101)

"It's so easy for people wonder if God really loves them, especially when bad things happen. And that's just what Satan wants, for us to doubt God,...to doubt His Word, and His Power."

Who Wouldn't Want To Be Free?

Good Morning, It's Another New Day and Another New Chance,...Let's Not Waste Either!! How many of us went to bed last night hoping to be rich, this morning? And what do most folks want, or expect from winning the Lottery?...." Paid in full ! "  When the Lotteries get high, you know,...the mega jackpots, people who other wise wouldn't buy a ticket, will suddenly buy several. Why? Because every one wants to be debt-free. If you've ever been weighted down with nagging credit card debt, then you know what I'm talking about. Imagine, if all that debt were paid or suddenly gone,....you'd feel like you just got out of prison! Our sin debt can have the same effect, it weights heavy on our minds and it's such a burden on the human soul. The weight gets heavier when we read in the Bible what the penalty is for our spiritual debt. There is an eternal death penalty for the way we have run our own lives instead of letting God run them. The prospect of a hopeless eternity makes the weight of our sin almost unbearable.

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.—Romans 6:23 (KJV)

That's why Jesus is such awesome good news. The prospect of being spiritually debt-free is wrapped up in three words Jesus spoke just before He died on that cross. They're recorded in our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus said, "It is finished."  In the original Greek language this was written in, that is just one word. It's used as an accounting word that means "paid in full". Nothing owed any more. So that when you stand before God on Judgment Day, where your sins once appeared in God's book, it will simply say, "Paid in full!" Which means the only thing that could keep you out of heaven is gone! But you don't pay the bill. You can't! There's no amount of doing good that can pay a death penalty. But God loves you so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to that cross to pay what only He could pay for so you don't have to have an eternity without Him. Jesus absorbed all the guilt and all the hell of every wrong thing you've ever done, and then He declared once and for all, "It is finished . . . it's paid in full! This very day you can experience the incredible joy of knowing that you are forever free from the weight of your sin,...even if you never win the lottery.

What Jesus did on His cross removes your sin when you tell Jesus you are putting all your trust in Him to forgive you and to take you to heaven when you die.

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I'm praying that all who read this today, will be able to go to sleep tonight saying,

..." I'm forgiven . . . and I'm free! "

"It's so easy for people wonder if God really loves them, especially when bad things happen. And that's just what Satan wants, for us to doubt God,...to doubt His Word, and His Power."

Not If, But When

Good Morning!! Life is made up of both good and bad times. There's a Chinese proverb which states," A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a person perfected without trials."  I'm amazed at how often some people seem to be caught off guard, when ever life doesn't go perfectly. If Christ's life, while He was on earth, wasn't fully blissful,...then why would we expect ours to be? "Troubles will come." and I know this to be true, from dealing with my own present trials, and past troubles. But there is an understanding, and a general philosophy, that has helped me to endure, and get by. Interestingly, there are lots of examples and references throughout the Bible that echo the same sentiment.

The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: " Lord, save me!" The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, He saved me.—Psalm 116:3,4-6,7 (NIV)

When I look back at those hard times of my life, I have learned, that each time I stumbled and fell, it did not break me,...but helped to refine my walk with God. As I faced my own sins, I learned what my weaknesses are, so that I could put up more strict boundaries; saying no more easily, rather than yes to actions and words that I know to be displeasing to God. Rather than hold on to guilt over past repentant mistakes,...I'm learning to embraced God's merciful grace and love,...using the testimony of my past, to tell others of God's love and grace. "If God forgave me,...surly He can, and will forgive you too."

We can use our mistakes to gather and learn wisdom,...or we can let those bumps in the road permanently knock us off course.

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Just as we have a choice whether or not we'll accept a relationship with our Creator,...we also get to choose how we will handle suffering, trials and errors,
...even if we don't get to choose if and when they come.

"It's so easy for people wonder if God really loves them, especially when bad things happen. And that's just what Satan wants, for us to doubt God,...to doubt His Word, and His Power."

God With Us

Good Morning,...You do know that God Is With You, Right?? Have you noticed how different we are around cretin people,...better. If the police are around we're the prefect drivers. Most of us would never curse or tell a dirty or off color joke in front of our kids or parents. And Heaven forbid that some one from church should see us drinking.

You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. —Psalm 139:2,3 (NIV)

We’re like that with God sometimes too! We feel comfortable knowing that He’s all-powerful. We’re glad that He’s out there keeping the laws of the universe running. We’re delighted that He has promised to be our guide and protector and friend. But we’d prefer that He do it from His throne in heaven, not from inside our comfort zone. We don’t want Him riding in the car listening to our radio, on the job seeing how we act or act-out, or listening to every phone conversation. But that closeness is what we need! The only way  we can walk comfortably in His presence,....knowing that He doesn’t miss a thing we do, is if we are trying to live the way He wants us to live.

The truth is,....we really can’t have too much of God’s presence.

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God always makes it personal,...with His presence.

"It's so easy for people wonder if God really loves them, especially when bad things happen. And that's just what Satan wants, for us to doubt God,...to doubt His Word, and His Power."

Faith To Stand On

Good Morning, Start This New Week Exercising Your Faith, In GOD,....And In Yourself!!! "You of little faith," what is the object of our faltering faith? Do we doubt Jesus or ourselves? I think most of the time, our doubt is self-directed. Peter climbed out of the boat, and walked on water, because he believed in Jesus. He started to sink because, when push came to shove, he did not believe that he could walk on water. Jesus once said to his disciples that they would do greater works than he. Discipleship hangs on the premise that if the Teacher can do it the student can do it, too. If Jesus walks on water, his disciples can walk on water! We like Peter, lacked self-confidence.

And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?—Matthew 14:31 (KJV)

"[Jesus Christ] will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a . . . dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what he said." (this is and excerpt from C. S. Lewis book Mere Christianity)

"I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!". Mark 9:24

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It's time that we develop and use some walking on the water faith.

"It's so easy for people wonder if God really loves them, especially when bad things happen. And that's just what Satan wants, for us to doubt God,...to doubt His Word, and His Power."

When We Trust, We Rest

Good Morning, My Friend!! Because the workaholic believes that he must legitimize his existence by his work, he works almost all the time, neglecting his family, neglecting his Sabbaths,...and neglecting his health. When he stops working, he becomes restless and anxious. Resting from our labors is an act of trust. The workaholic does not understand this.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.—Exodus 20:8 (NIV)

In keeping the Sabbath we acknowledge that "man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God " (Matt. 4:4; cf. Deut. 8:3). Resting is one way for us to say, "You are God,...and I am not." Our survival, our sustenance, does not depend on us. We are called to work faithfully,...but God is our real provider. In the Lord's Prayer, we ask, "Give us this day our daily bread." This childlike prayer recognizes our dependence on God. He is trustworthy and He will take care of us.

When we rest from our labors, we express our dependence on God's care and provision.

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God has given us work as a gift,...not as a new slave-master.

"We need the Word,...to refill and refuel our souls."

Stop and Reflect

Good Morning, It's Thoughtful, Thankful Thursday!! A world without Sabbath,....a world of endless days of work, a life of drudgery, a humdrum existence, this is a world without God. Yet so many of us live in such a world. We often unnecessarily subject ourselves to this kind of sad and meaningless existence, where we ignore God's invitation to rest. God is saying to us, "You are my child, you don't have to live that way."

And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.—Genesis 2:3 (NIV)

The Sabbath offers us a sense of completion. After the sixth day, God stopped and considered his work of creation. He concluded that it was "very good" (Gen. 1:31). As men and women made in his image, he also invites us to stop, and reflect, and appreciate the work of our hands (or minds, as the case may be). Gratitude is an important part of Sabbath. We can give thanks to the God who made us with the ability to express creative work.

Our work will not be perfect, but it can be good.

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We give thanks to the God who made us with the ability to express creative work,...and Who also gave us the means to break from it.

"We need the Word,...to refill and refuel our souls."

Time Off

Good Morning,...We're Halfway Through Another Week!! Our society has changed from an agricultural/industrial society to an information/technology society, and we have exchanged hard work for stressful work. Consequently, observing the Sabbath has become more subjective,...meaning different things to different people. Our Sabbath should be more than a chance to recuperate or resuscitate, before jumping back into the rat race of work.

Work the first six days of the week, but rest and relax on the seventh day. This law is not only for you, but for your oxen, donkeys, and slaves, as well as for any foreigners among you.—Exodus 23:12 (CEV)

In observing the Sabbath we should be able to discover God's shalom: a sense of wholeness and peace with ourselves and our standing with God. We should reflect on where God has brought us thus far and where he may be leading us in the future. This is why when the Lord invites us to the Sabbath he says, "Then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land " (Isa. 58:14)

God made us with a need for rest,...physical and emotional rest.

We can fight it, ignore it, or avoid it, but if we do,....everyone around us will suffer.

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Your job was not meant to be your life!

"We need the Word,...to refill and refuel our souls."

ReFRESH

Good Morning,...Arise, And Be Refreshed!! Trouble is drawn to us like a magnet, as soon as we allow our hearts to become entangled with fear and doubt. We digest a steady diet of fear, and it grows into pessimism. It does not simply consume one heart, but easily turns into an epidemic infecting many,...leaving behind the bitter taste of hopelessness.

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.—John 7:38 (KJV)

Jesus Christ, pours restoration and hope back into our hearts. He fills us with sweet living water, that overtakes the bitter to satisfy our souls. So much so, that it becomes a swollen river, which overflows from within us,...so that others may drink and be satisfied as well.

This world is filled with thirsty and dry souls, needing and wanting the sweet taste of Living Water.  Our calling as Christians, is to see that they find it.

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" Bitterness is a cancer of the spirit,

....it unfailingly eats away at emotional, spiritual, even physical health."

(Practicing Greatness,  Reggie McNeal, p. 43)

"We need the Word,...to refill and refuel our souls."

RESToration

Good Morning, I Hope You Took Time To Rest,...Before Starting This New Week!!! God worked, and God rested,....and in so doing, He established for us the cycle of six days of work and one day of rest. The Bible repeatedly provides divine patterns and ordinances for our well being.  Rest does not mean cessation from all activity, but a break from the kind of activity we do the other six days. This does not suggest idleness, but employing ourselves in corporate worship and other activities that restore our soul.

And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.—Genesis 2:2 (KJV)

The word Sabbath means to cease from our labors. The rhythm of working and resting is built into all creation. We desperately need this Sabbath rest, partly because it's our time to put back what was lost. At the heart of sin is a refusal to see and accept our frailties and weaknesses. In the Sabbath, we can embrace our vulnerabilities and declare our trust in God.

Work and rest are creation gifts from God to provide for our joy and satisfaction in life.

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"The greatest hope for the progress of mankind is the Sabbath."(Abraham Heschel)

"We need the Word,...to refill and refuel our souls."

A Kind Word

GOOD Morning!! We all have an ability, and the responsibility to encourage each other. I know you remember what your momma told you; " If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all. " No one ever really benefits, when we tear each other down.

An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.—Proverbs 12:25 (NIV)

If we could commit ourselves to seeing and thinking good thoughts not only concerning others but also of ourselves; we'd find it easier to lift up those who are down and low on hope.  Continually dwelling on past mistakes and failures only causes us think the worst,...of ourselves and others.

A good and kind word from God applied by faith will take the heavy heart and make it glad

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A good and kind word from God applied by faith will take the heavy heart and make it glad. If we help one another and encourage each other we will then experience the joy of the Lord which will be our strength.

"Too many believers, who profess faith in Christ, have never surrendered themselves to the control of the Holy Spirit."

G.P.S.

GOOD Morning, It's Another Thoughtful, Thankful Thursday!! Lost?,...use your (G.P.S.) Global Positioning Satellite, it can let you know where you are,...and give you directions. But for knowing more than our geographic location, like "where are we in the big picture of things?" or "Is the world in which we live a godless accident of changing matter over endless time?" " Is the beauty of a rose, the intricacy of an eye, the kindness of human friendship simply the whimsy of chance?" Or is there more at work?  For these and other answers, Christians use their built in (G.P.S.) God's Protective Spirit.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.—Genesis 1:1 (NIV)

Today's Scripture, the very first verse of the Bible insists that all things come to be because of God. God is the wise maker and loving sustainer of all that is. It's a mind-boggling claim. Our finite brain cannot fully grasp it, but in faith we profess it. All that we know of redemption is set within the frame of God's creation. Where are we? We are in the hands and heart of God.

To pose and answer, one of the perennial questions of philosophy: Why is there something rather than nothing?  Because, God makes and sustains everything!

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Lord and Father of the cosmos, Maker of Heaven and earth, open our eyes and ears and hearts to this world of wonders You have lovingly made, and to Your splendor and glory.

"Too many believers, who profess faith in Christ, have never surrendered themselves to the control of the Holy Spirit."