Proverb 14:32 When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous seek refuge in God.
Proverb 18:19 The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
Nehemiah 8:10 Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
I think about the disappearance of the Malaysian airplane, and I wonder what the families of the passengers on that airplane are feeling with the loss of their loved ones. The devastation, anger, and questions it must cause in their lives must be excruciating. How can people find peace in their hearts after a tragedy? The only way for an individual to emerge from a depression of this magnitude is by drawing strength form the Holy Spirit. Without Jesus, all would be hopeless, but with Him there is hope. There is hope that soon there will be joy in the memory of their lost loved ones rather than only pain for their passing. This joy takes time to obtain, but God's presence and an intimate relationship with Him encourage the heartbroken to continue on. Moment by moment God eases the pain by speaking to the the heart. That peace that He gives becomes the peace of the one who is hurting. One realizes that Jesus knows about suffering from His sacrifice for us on the cross. He was tortued, crucified, and became sin because He loved us. He is our refuge when we hurt because He knows exactly how we feel. He was separated from His Father at the time of the crucifixion, and it must have been unbearable for Him. He was obedient, and His Hope for a reunion with God gave Him the strength to finish the course. Slowing but surely, the bereaved recognizes Jesus' great love for him, and then starts to notice little things that bring him joy. It starts with noticing His creation and moves to a renewed feeling of being happy to be alive. He is happy that there are caring friends and family who are still on this earth to comfort him. God loves this support system and teaches this brotherly love through His commandments. Fellowship with others eventually brings a normalcy to the lives of the hurting one. Relying on God, the person has a revival of hope, and his life no longer seems as burdened by loss.
I know the sadness of losing a loved one to old age, but my loss is different from an unexpected loss of a person in the prime of their lives. I have never experience this kind of shock and loss, but I pray that God would be able to reach my heart as he always has before. A grieving process must take time and go through its stages, but God is our strength and carries us through it. We Christians need to reach out to those who are hurting so that we can be reflections of God's great love for them.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Confession of Sin
Proverb: 28:13 He who conceals his sins does not prosper. but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
Do you ever pray for everyone in your family and then forget to praise God, thank Him, or ask for forgiveness of your sins? You pray everyday for all the members of your family and for their success, peace, good health, love, and walk with Christ. Everything focuses intensely on them. It is great to concentrate on intercession for family and friends, but before asking for things, we need to praise his name and ask Him for forgiveness. How can we expect God to hear us when we don't show recognition of who He is? He wants us to humble ourselves and reach out to Him for a relationship. Our prayer conversation should be about our thanks for his wonderful promises and love. We should show appreciation for his character and saving grace. We should give thanks for his greatest gift of his only Son. Then we should ask his forgiveness for the things we have done intentionally and for things we may have unwittingly done.
I am saying these things because I realized a while back that I was begging for help for family and not considering my sins. I may not have killed people, but I have done many sinful things. I think about my pride and how I want people to approve of me and admire my achievements. I want to be happy with the triumphs that God has given me, but at times I want to further improve my life with my own strength. I came to see that I was very prideful and needed to constantly remind myself that God should get all the credit for my life. I am very competitive and always want to come out a winner in any situation; however, God has made clear to me that to fail gives me the power to learn and to improve. Pride is just one of my many sins. I find that I can be judgmental about situations and people. Often I think that I know best, and that people should just ask my opinion so I can rectify their mistakes. Disapproval of things can cause me to be somewhat impatient and exasperated, and these feelings should have no place in my life. Luckily I constantly talk to God so my thick- headed self finally gets the picture that I am a true sinner.
Now when I pray, I begin with thanks for all my blessings and then I praise Him for his grace. Then I talk about my sins and how I will try to be a better person and more Christlike. I want to be an encourager not a discourager. Even if I have not said anything to discourage someone, I'm sure that I need to find chances to uplift others. I need to reach out to others in friendship and love. God wants much more of me than I am willing to give. It is hard to put others first, to promote fellowship, and to further God's kingdom. It is easy for me to say that I will get to those things when I have more time, feel better, or have enough confidence. I'm like Jonah with his excuses for not wanting to do what God told him to do to help the Ninevites learn the error of their ways.
I will constantly pray in an ongoing way to God and will ask for his grace and for the Holy Spirit to guide me on the path to righteousness. I will constantly be aware of my sinful self and will continue to battle my wrongs. I will tell God that I know I am a sinner but I am a new person in Christ. He made me white as snow, and there was nothing I could do to save myself except through Him. God is a merciful and forgiving God. I can rest easy and know that I have been forgiven. God is great and can take care of all our doubts and needs.
When we pray, let us remember to confess our sins and ask for forgiveness.
Do you ever pray for everyone in your family and then forget to praise God, thank Him, or ask for forgiveness of your sins? You pray everyday for all the members of your family and for their success, peace, good health, love, and walk with Christ. Everything focuses intensely on them. It is great to concentrate on intercession for family and friends, but before asking for things, we need to praise his name and ask Him for forgiveness. How can we expect God to hear us when we don't show recognition of who He is? He wants us to humble ourselves and reach out to Him for a relationship. Our prayer conversation should be about our thanks for his wonderful promises and love. We should show appreciation for his character and saving grace. We should give thanks for his greatest gift of his only Son. Then we should ask his forgiveness for the things we have done intentionally and for things we may have unwittingly done.
I am saying these things because I realized a while back that I was begging for help for family and not considering my sins. I may not have killed people, but I have done many sinful things. I think about my pride and how I want people to approve of me and admire my achievements. I want to be happy with the triumphs that God has given me, but at times I want to further improve my life with my own strength. I came to see that I was very prideful and needed to constantly remind myself that God should get all the credit for my life. I am very competitive and always want to come out a winner in any situation; however, God has made clear to me that to fail gives me the power to learn and to improve. Pride is just one of my many sins. I find that I can be judgmental about situations and people. Often I think that I know best, and that people should just ask my opinion so I can rectify their mistakes. Disapproval of things can cause me to be somewhat impatient and exasperated, and these feelings should have no place in my life. Luckily I constantly talk to God so my thick- headed self finally gets the picture that I am a true sinner.
Now when I pray, I begin with thanks for all my blessings and then I praise Him for his grace. Then I talk about my sins and how I will try to be a better person and more Christlike. I want to be an encourager not a discourager. Even if I have not said anything to discourage someone, I'm sure that I need to find chances to uplift others. I need to reach out to others in friendship and love. God wants much more of me than I am willing to give. It is hard to put others first, to promote fellowship, and to further God's kingdom. It is easy for me to say that I will get to those things when I have more time, feel better, or have enough confidence. I'm like Jonah with his excuses for not wanting to do what God told him to do to help the Ninevites learn the error of their ways.
I will constantly pray in an ongoing way to God and will ask for his grace and for the Holy Spirit to guide me on the path to righteousness. I will constantly be aware of my sinful self and will continue to battle my wrongs. I will tell God that I know I am a sinner but I am a new person in Christ. He made me white as snow, and there was nothing I could do to save myself except through Him. God is a merciful and forgiving God. I can rest easy and know that I have been forgiven. God is great and can take care of all our doubts and needs.
When we pray, let us remember to confess our sins and ask for forgiveness.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Diligence
Proverb13:4 The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.
The lazy person is always wanting more for himself, but he never wants to work for anything. This desire covers more than just material possessions. The sluggard craves fame, glory, riches, beauty, and admiration. His life remains static and never develops in any satisfying way unless someone gives him something. Craving something brings to mind being addicted to and desperate for something. This kind of need is unhealthy because it depends on worldly things. What the lazy person cannot or will not see is that he or she is focusing on self rather than pleasing God. To please God is to bring a satisfaction of a miraculous kind into your life. God grants one a peace and self respect when one is in tune with Him. This refers to a relationship in which the believer knows his/her every need will be met. One realizes that there is no need for the earthly glories that won't last. God lets one know that he/she is special in his sight and that the gifts he gives one are to be used to glorify God. When one feels unworthy, ignorant, and useless, one should remember that God loves us, gave us a purpose, and gave us the gifts with which to accomplish that purpose. The lazy person searches and feels unworthy, but the diligent one works in order to glorify God in every task whether small or large. The diligent person does not give up on any undertaking. He is diligent because his /her cause is worthy because he /she is part of a mission that rises above the mundane and carnal. A diligent person knows that God will get him/her through the difficult times so there is a confidence in any situation.
At times we may wonder about our purpose for being placed here. We are to never stop reaching toward accomplishing the goal that God has set before us. The fulfillment of our purposes are accomplished by the use of diligence, prayer, spiritual gifts, and reading his Word. The diligent person has a life of satisfaction because this person has come to the understanding that God can be trusted. One's obedience results in the peace for which we are all striving. A right relationship with God results in an encouragement and a lifting up our hearts and souls like no other. This is what being fully satisfied is all about.
Kay
The lazy person is always wanting more for himself, but he never wants to work for anything. This desire covers more than just material possessions. The sluggard craves fame, glory, riches, beauty, and admiration. His life remains static and never develops in any satisfying way unless someone gives him something. Craving something brings to mind being addicted to and desperate for something. This kind of need is unhealthy because it depends on worldly things. What the lazy person cannot or will not see is that he or she is focusing on self rather than pleasing God. To please God is to bring a satisfaction of a miraculous kind into your life. God grants one a peace and self respect when one is in tune with Him. This refers to a relationship in which the believer knows his/her every need will be met. One realizes that there is no need for the earthly glories that won't last. God lets one know that he/she is special in his sight and that the gifts he gives one are to be used to glorify God. When one feels unworthy, ignorant, and useless, one should remember that God loves us, gave us a purpose, and gave us the gifts with which to accomplish that purpose. The lazy person searches and feels unworthy, but the diligent one works in order to glorify God in every task whether small or large. The diligent person does not give up on any undertaking. He is diligent because his /her cause is worthy because he /she is part of a mission that rises above the mundane and carnal. A diligent person knows that God will get him/her through the difficult times so there is a confidence in any situation.
At times we may wonder about our purpose for being placed here. We are to never stop reaching toward accomplishing the goal that God has set before us. The fulfillment of our purposes are accomplished by the use of diligence, prayer, spiritual gifts, and reading his Word. The diligent person has a life of satisfaction because this person has come to the understanding that God can be trusted. One's obedience results in the peace for which we are all striving. A right relationship with God results in an encouragement and a lifting up our hearts and souls like no other. This is what being fully satisfied is all about.
Kay
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