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I hope this site is an encouragement to you.
Week of August 23:
We serve an awesome God! I thank each of you so much for your encouragement to me this week. Some of you I have only met recently, and for some of us, our friendship has been rekindled. God is so amazing that He can bring the hearts and lives of people together for one purpose.
God tells us in His word that if we are faithful, He will supply all our needs according to His will. Sometimes we see that as a blanket response that God will give us all the things that we want. In reality that is true, but it requires some work on our part. But before you question my interpretation of Philippians 4:19, please consider this: If we have a heart that seeks God. If we truly become a person that searches after the heart of God; our WANTS and desires will become those of God. In that instance, He will be supplying our wants because they are in line with His will.
We are often so guilty of trying to mold God's will into our own thoughts and desires. We have it all figured out. We just pray to God as a formality, praying for God's blessing and anointing on the plans we already have made. But that's not the way God works. By doing so, we are still in control of our own lives and show no faith. God's desire is that we surrender to Him and His will. It's a tough one for us. It means that we have to trust God with the unknown. We have to show faith.
We are so good at listening to others, to conforming our lives to the world. We spend so much time looking for and receiving the approval of others. It often seems easier that way. Soon, it's no wonder our lives reflect the world! We have conformed to the world. We need to examine ourselves closely and we can see to whom we owe our allegiance. Look at your thoughts, your speech, your habits. Are they a direct reflection of God? Or are they of the world?
Take a moment today and ask God to help you to be more like Him. It is in becoming like Him that we find peace, contentment, and true happiness. Without Him, there is none. We are just struggling through life, playing a game of "make believe". One day that life will catch up to us. But a life spent surrendered to God is more than our hearts and minds can comprehend!
Keep on encouraging!
Week of August 16:It's hard to believe that it has almost been two months since I posted something on this site. I have been spending more time trying to develop a daily devotional via text message that many of you participate in. I hope that is has been a blessing to you.
God has really showed me the last few weeks just how important it is to rely on Him. In every event that happens in our lives it is imperative that we keep our focus on Him. How crazy our life seems to get when we, even for a second, take our eyes off of Him.
It is so easy to get caught in a rut these days. Some of our ruts become our life's path and we never seem to get back on track.
Sometimes, however, are ruts are daily struggles, things in our lives that we refuse to give to God. For some of us, we have wandered so far away from God that we can't even imagine how we can ever get back to Him, or if He would even want us back. Let me tell you, though we have strayed, God has never moved. He is always there waiting, calling, wanting us to ask for His help, His forgiveness, His restoration. God does not hold grudges. He does not hold our past against us. Instead, He wants us to experience His grace and mercy in it's fullness.
I often hear so many people talking about getting their lives straight so they can come back to a relationship with God. I even have heard preachers give messages on getting right with God. Let me tell you, that is the biggest bunk that I have heard in a while. We have it all backwards!
It is not within our capabilities to get our lives straight and then find God. If that were the case, we would not need God. We can't do it on our own. We can look at our lives and realize that.
Finding a relationship with Christ is as simple as asking Him. Surrender yourself to God and He (and only He) will get your life straight. We make it more complicated than it is.
Don't worry about getting everything together. Let God do the worrying. He who made the heavens and the earth has the power to relieve you of your struggles.
If you are on that path today, just cry out to God, He will show you where you need to go. Trust in Him, not in yourself!
Week of June 28:God is so good! Isn’t it amazing how God never ceases to mystify and awe! No matter what we face, God is there in our midst. The other day, I read Jeremiah 23. In that passage of scripture, God was telling Jeremiah that he should not worry about those that seek to destroy him. There is no place that God is not present. God assured Jeremiah and the false prophets that He would bring about justice. He also assured Jeremiah that He would be with Jeremiah and the people of Israel.
What I found so comforting was that God said He would gather up His sheep and set a shepherd to watch over them. He told them that He would assemble the pieces and make them whole again. Lately, I have felt that all that was left of me was pieces! But what a comfort to know that God is going to reassemble those pieces and make something of them.
I have no doubts that no matter where I am headed, it is a better place than I have ever been in my life! God has shown me time after time that He is with me. If I keep my focus on Him, it doesn’t matter what I think about my life and what the meaning of it is. God has a purpose for me and will bless me beyond my wildest dreams! No matter what lies ahead, I know that I will find fulfillment and happiness to which there is no measure!
Sometimes God has to do some drastic things in our life to bring us to submission. But He is our Father and that Father’s love hates to see us hurt. He just needs to get our attention sometimes. It is more important to God that we fully and completely submit ourselves to Him. He will allow pain and heartache if that is what it requires for Him to ensure that we are where He wants us to be doing what He wants us to do! But when we finally find ourselves focused on God and His purpose and our entire focus is on Him, an amazing thing begins to happen. Soon we find that our heartache becomes hope, our pain becomes strength, our doubt becomes faith, and happiness beyond our expectations begins to become the norm, rather than the exception.
Take heart my brothers and sisters that God promises that He will never leave your nor forsake you. And sometimes we often wonder if God is around, but I assure you that He is. He loves us enough to chastise us and then show us His perfect will. It is often a tough process, but the rewards are great.
God may allow things to be taken away in our lives. But when He allows that, it is only so He can replace those things with greater things. A life fulfilled is one that seeks the very heart of God. And for one who seeks the heart of God, the possibilities are limitless.
I am not the man I used to be. Praise God!
Week of May 24: Wow! What an awesome blessing to have Christian friends! I thank God for all my true friends that I know I can call on anytime. I am so thankful that God has surrounded me with Godly men and women. I have called on those friends many times over the weeks to pray for me and without a doubt I know that they (you) did. It gave me strength just to know that people were praying for me. Many times I knew in an instant that you guys were praying for me because God has done some miraculous things in my life and given me some signs when I needed them most. Of all the blessings in my life, Christian friends are among the greatest of all.There is a lot to be said for Christian friends. To know that people are encouraging you all the time to do the right thing even when the world doesn’t see it that way is comforting. It is also motivation. I don’t know what I would do without you guys standing in the gap for me.
What a bond to know that you don’t face the world alone. There is strength in numbers. Couple that with the power of God and you got yourself a majority. (OK, the power of God thing is a majority in itself)
Again, I just want to say thanks for encouraging me, praying for/with me, and keeping me on the straight and narrow, holding me accountable. I encourage you to take a moment, call, text, email, (whatever it takes) your Christian friends and tell them thanks for being there. Because in the end, no one knows what you face each day more than a Christian friend. Thanks guys! I love you all!
Week of May 17th: I have been studying the Book of Psalms lately. If I had to align myself with anyone in the Bible, it would be David. Although, I have never arisen to king status in my life, I have (with God’s help) slain a view Goliath’s in my time. But most of all, I understand what it means to really mess things up and feel the restorative power of God time after time. I have known what it’s like to be in a “cave” and I know what it’s like to conquer the world and be on the highest mountain top. And that’s just in one week. But is an ever present God and He has given me a peace that truly passes all of my understanding.Does that mean that I have a peace about all that is going on in my life? Not at all, but I have a peace that I rest in the arms of the One who will make everything all right. My peace comes not from my own abilities, but rather in knowing that God holds me in His hands and no matter what befalls me that I will be OK. I would much better be in God’s will and everything not go my way by the world’s measure, and find favor with Him.
My desire is to please the Lord in all that I do. If it means that I do things that are unpopular, so be it. I will choose the road less traveled. When it’s all said and done, I want it to be said that I was a man after God’s own heart. But it’s not always easy. I am not anywhere perfect and God has a lot of work to do yet. But I am encouraged by the apostle Paul who wrote that it was a growing process, one that is always being attained.
Week of May 10th: Many of you that know me well know how much I love to sing. You also know that I love music, music of all kinds. My brothers in my singing group would definitely be able to agree that when you sing the same songs all the time, you often get complacent and somehow miss the meaning and true ministry in each song.
God revealed something so special to me this week. He opened my eyes to the messages in songs. In all kinds of song, all kinds of music. It seemed every time I turned on the radio or my ipod, a song brought a message to me that God was trying to speak to me. I truly believed that God used someone who was in a similar place in their lives, to speak to me in that moment.
Let me just give you an example of the way God spoke to me this week. There was one morning I was doing my quiet time and when I finished studying the Word, I knelt to pray. But instead of being able to pray, all I could do was weep. I sobbed for some time, still not be able to get a word out. I just felt really drained. After a while, I just got up and headed to my truck for work. I turned on the xmradio and no kidding, the first song that came on, was “When I Can’t Pray.” The song was about times in our lives when words fail us and we aren’t able to pray. But that God knows are hearts and our needs and our desires before we ever utter a word. The scripture says that the Spirit intercedes on our behalf, even when we can’t utter a word. What an awesome lesson that morning and such a huge comfort to a weary soul.
There are countless ways that spoke to me this week through songs. I encourage you to listen a little closer as you hear songs this week. You might find a little message in song.
