God Forgives and So Should We

Can you imagine holding a grudge against someone for more than 20 years, yet many of us do this.  A gruge like this doesn't hurt the person it's aimed at, but keeps the holder in a perpetual state of mental bondage. Allowing someone to take up negative space in your head is self-destroying and serves no good.

I've heard people on television talk about how much they hate, and will never forgive the person that killed or murdered their love one.  Now, someone who has suffered such an atrocity surely has a right to feel the way they do, but they have only allowed the perpetrator to have more control over their life, and they will be in bondage to them until they forgive. 

Forgiveness does not come easy for most of us.  Our natural instinct is to recoil in self-protection when we've been injured.  We don't naturally overflow with mercy, grace, and forgiveness when we've been wronged, but we only hurt ourselves.

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13 (NIV)

I Tried It My Way !

For so long I tried to do things my way, never conceding that my way didn't really work.  Oh yes, we can be fooled into thinking that the way we do things, the manner in which we handle situations is the correct way.  But when I look back over my life, I hear Dr. Phil asking: " so how's that working for you?"

I realized now that the things I controlled or tried to do on my own were pretty much the failures, and all the successes I've had had nothing to do with me, but were what God had for or did for me.  When I realized that God really is in control of my life is when doors opened, opportunities presented themselves to me, and others around me.

Killing the flesh (the old man) is very hard to do, especially the older you are, but it must be done to allow God to have his way in your life.  We all want the best that life has to offer, and the best way to achieve this is to put everything in the Lord's hands.  People may argue that they see non-Christians achieving just as much or more as Christians do, but we know all they will achieve is earthly success.  And, most of the time, while people are working so hard for earthly success, it is costing them something more percious and priceless - a real realtionship with God, special times with family, and even their health.  We know the more important success is with our heavenly Father, because the things of this world are temporary.  The rewards with Him are eternal and overflowing.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't
try to figure out everything on your own. (Proverbs 3:5-6/The Message)

Giving Thanks Daily !

I pray that all of you had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.  My wife and I had a truly wonderful and blessed one.

The preparation of all the delicious food is a warm family tradition for most; and the time spent together is a joyous occasion.  Yes, the fourth Thursday of November is looked forward to annually.  But, when we look at the sacrifice made on our behalf by Jesus to pardon us, so that we can have life everlasting, it should bring up inside of us a daily thanksgiving.

There are so many things to be thankful for every day of our lives, and every minute of every hour.  We are still breathing, and living. Thank You God.  We are not what we should be, but thanks be to God we are not what we use to be.  We must be thankful for the fact that when we mess up God gives us another chance to get it right.  Our lives may not be what we want them to be because of our weaknesses and short comings, but the joy of the Lord is our strength while we work on positive change.  We may not have everything we want, but we do have everything we need.  We may have lost love ones who were near and dear to us, but let's honor them by being thankful for and celebrating the living.  We must even be thankful for trials and tribulations.  Hard times are just growing experiences.  Remember the old saying: "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger."  This is a true fact.  God loved the world so much that He gave the life of His only son for you and for me; and Jesus willingly died on the cross, and then He selflessly left so that Holy Spirit could come and be our constant keeper and comforter.  They did all of this while you and I were still sinners.  How great is our God.  We have to be super thankful for all He has; is, and will do for us!

Psalm 118:21
I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.

WHO IS GOD?

Say what! Who is God?! Are you kidding me?

If you don't know, you better ask somebody.  And if you do know or think you know, this is still a wise question to ask ourselves everyday.  We need to ask ourselves every day Who is God so we can answer ourselves, and remind ourselves Who He is:

He is the reason we wake up every morning.  First of all He exhales so that we can inhale.  Second of all, He keeps us through the day.  And, last, but not least, He is the reason why we can put head to pillow and sleep peacefully.  He never sleeps nor slumbers.

He is the Way Maker

He is alpha and omega; He is the beginning and the end; He is the first and the last; He is Genesis and Revelation

He is the Great I am

He is Lord and Savior

He is Jehovah-Jireh (My Provider)

He is the Good Shepherd

He is Abba (Father)

He is the one and only, true, and living God

He is Yeshua (Jesus)

He is Holy Spirit (Ghost)

He is the Holy Trinity

"Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone."  And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.  And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.  Repeat them again and again to your children.  Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.  Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.  Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9/NLT)

This is Why He is God, and We Are Not!

Man can be fickled; fake, and phony any day of the week, but thank God, "Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever more."

We are quick to point out each others faults even though we have many of our own faults, but God (Who is faultless) covers our faults and gives us an opportunity to correct them.  That is why He is God.

God extends mercy and grace to us.  His mercy spares us from what we do deserve, and His grace gives us what we don't deserve!  That is why He is God.

How many of us make the mistake of being judgemental of those that we believe don't measure up based on our perspective.  This is not unconditional love.  Jesus loves the sinner not the sin.  No matter what, He loves all of us unconditionally.  That is why He is God.

But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
For there is no respect of persons with God. (Romans 2:10&11/KJV)

Acknowledge that the Lord is God!  He made us, and we are His. (Psalm 100:3A/NLT)

Needless to say, we can never be perfect like God, but we can strive every day to get as close as possible to godly perfection.  Remember, Holy Spirit (God in us) will always be there to help us along the way.

Humility Over Pride ! (It's Not About Me)

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:3).
                                             
Humility is proper expression when honoring God.  It is the right spirit for a Christian to have in representing Jesus Christ.  It shows Him that we understand Who He is and the ultimate importance He has in our lives. We understand that without Him we are spiritually bankrupt, and that we could accomplish nothing of value.
                                             
Pride on the other hand is taking undeserved credit for what God has done in our lives.  There are so many scriptures on the destruction of self, when pride is at work.  God hates pride because it takes away His glory and His deserved credit for fathering His children.

In his pride the wicked does not seek Him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God (Psalm 10:4)

We would be wise to remember that it is never about us, but always about God.  He is the Creator and we are the created.  He created us, and placed us here to have a right relationship with Him; to represent Him on earth, and to bring His Word to life.

We have been taught, from as long as we can remember, to be pridful about our accomplishments -- so we have to retrain ourselves,  through the Word of God, that pride should be Godly and not self centered.

Pride means there is no room for God in our lives. Think about that (selah) -- NO ROOM FOR GOD ! Where would we be?  How would our lives turn out?  Most of us already know the answer to this, because we know where we were in our pre-saved days.  How did it go for us? How did we make it out?  We all, personally, made alot of mistakes and had alot of regrets, but God!

Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.  Better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud.  Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be joyful.  (Proverbs 16:18-20/NLT)
                                             
                                                    To God be the Glory!

I'm Striving to do Better

Am I perfect - far from it, but I am striving to do better.

I am NOT God, so, therefore, I can not do His job, but I can put my best foot forward, and keep striving to do my part better.

I am so glad that our God is the God of another chance.  He gives us every opportunity to get our lives back on track; right with Him, others, and ourselves.

I like striving to instead of trying to.  Trying sounds like an excuse we use when we really don't want to do something, and we are trying to convey the fact that it is too hard.  How can this be - we're Christians, and there is nothing too hard for God!  Striving reflects a pressing forward with every ounce of strength connotation!  And why wouldn't we keep striving with such a loving and caring Father like ours who has our back; front; top, and bottom 24/7!!

We must keep striving against all odds.  No matter what life takes us through we must keep striving.  There has been and will be struggles; hard times; trials and tribulations; lean and mean times, for as Christians we are not exempt from these things, but all our good days will out weigh our bad days, and if we keep striving to do better then better times are coming.  And when better times come for us, let us not forget to extend our hands to our brothers and sisters-in-Christ, and our fellow man, and encourage them to keep striving to do better.  Amen