In All Things

The child of God does not let a day go by, surely, in which he or she does not lift up their heart in thanking Him for His manifold blessings, bestowed in measureless grace, not only day after day, but hour after hour. As we delight ourselves in the Lord, we cannot help but praise Him many times daily for His mercies. How good He is to us always!

We thank Him for His goodness-- the goodness that we can see, the blessings that we know as blessings. But do we thank Him for the trials, the heartaches, the disappointments! Are we as ready to

praise Him when things go wrong as when they go exactly right? We tend to praise God in generalities, but do we thank Him sincerely for the very trials and sorrows that beset us? 

George Matheson, Scottish preacher whose eyesight became dim, put it this way: "My God, I have never thanked Thee for my thorn. I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but not once for my thorn. I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensated for my cross, but I have never thought of my cross as itself a present glory. Teach me the value of my thorn."

May the Lord teach us the value of the unpleasant things that comes upon us, the unwanted circumstances of life. It is so easy to thank Him for the roses. But it is not easy, is it, to give Him praise and thanksgiving for the thorns? Yet the way to know the peace of God is to see His hand and His love in the thorny places, and to thank Him for them.

Philippians 4:6-7

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer

and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known

unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,

shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Always remember: Where there’s life, there’s hope; And, where there is hope, there is life.

Be Thankful!

Awareness Is Key

God is always with us, but this doesn’t mean we can always perceive Him. He knew you, and who would be before we were born.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you. . .”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭1:5‬ 

There may be times when we feel really close to Him, yet on other occasions, He might seem distant and uninvolved in our lives. However, if we’re believers, we can be certain that He is our constant companion whether we’re aware of Him or not. This is a fact we can count on, and one which will empower and transform our lives. 

What happens when we KNOW the Lord is near whether we "feel" Him or not?

• We persistently seek His guidance. When our minds are set on the Lord, we want His direction for our choices in every area of life. 
• We view the Lord as our constant companion. No matter what we go through—even the loss of a loved one—we know we’re not alone. 
• Being aware of God helps us see everything in the light of His presence. This gives us a sense of safety because He keeps us through trials, reminds us of the dangers of sin, and provides for all our needs. 
• We experience Christ’s peace in the midst of storms. Knowing that nothing in this world is more powerful than our almighty God gives amazing peace and confidence in the midst of hardship and suffering. 
• His presence creates a hunger within us for the Word of God. Reading the Scriptures is like listening to the Lord speak directly to us. When we begin each morning in His Word, we are reminded all day long of His constant care. 
• Living with an awareness of the Lord brings joy to our hearts. Knowing that our omnipotent God is constantly with us puts troubling circumstances in their proper place—under His authority— and gives us the unspeakable joy of His companionship. 
• We are more conscious of the good things God sends us. Instead of giving others credit or attributing luck as the source of our blessings, we’ll realize that every perfect gift comes from the Father above (James 1:17). 
• The Lord’s presence causes us to continually live in dependence upon Him. Our first reaction to trouble is to call upon Him for help and protection. 
• Prayer is a priority in our lives. We don’t just come to the Lord with our problems and requests but we carry on a conversation with Him all day long, either verbally or in our thoughts. 
• When everything looks bleak, we continue to have hope. Our confidence is in God, not in good circumstances. He is our helper and sustainer. 
• Every decision is sifted through God’s will. In each choice, our first thought is to do what the Lord desires. 
• We consider needs in the light of His presence. Since He is our provider and knows exactly what we need, we have no cause for worry. We simply ask the Lord for help and trust Him to provide. 
• Our worship is authentic and rewarding. Church can't be a religious routine, but a chance to gather with believers and enter into God’s presence with deep appreciation and adoration. 
• An obedient lifestyle is the result of living in tune with the Lord. The more aware we are of Jesus in our lives, the less we tolerate sin because we know it doesn’t control us anymore. 
• We have a strong, intimate relationship with Christ. As we live with the mindset that He is always with us, our love for Him and sensitivity to Him increase. 

I would be less than a friend to you if I did not include a somber caution, even a warning. As deeply, and sacrificially that the Heavenly Father loves us, for some there will come a day of separation that will last through eternity. Notice the words of Jesus:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7:21-23

You may, or may not feel an immediate need for a conscious awareness of the Lord, but you will. Don't put it off. Let the Holy Spirit break through your busy-ness. Draw near to the Lord, He already close to you!

My Hero

"O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption." (Psalm 130:7 ESV)

There is a lot of hopelessness in the world today. Homes have been under attack. Economies are not doing as well as we would like. The politicians running for office are not anyone we would ever invite into our homes. During these times of turmoil and fear, where is your hope?

Be careful, because the things we place our hope in can keep us in an endless cycle of disappointment. What we end up doing is to create little heros to rescue us from whatever we think is wrong in our lives when our hope isn’t first and foremost in the Lord.

If we believe that if we can just get the right politician into office then everything in our country will turn around, then they are crafted into our mini-hero. It becomes the mechanism through which we hope to be rescued from our current state. 

Consider your finances and the dollar. How many of us place our hope in little green pieces of paper and coins thinking that if we just made a little more then we would be happy?

When we place our hope in these little saviors, we doom ourselves to a life of disappointment and idolatry. We submit ourselves to an endless cycle of regret, an existence that constantly cries, “If only!” When our hope is placed in anything less than the perfect God of the universe, we will live in the darkness of dissatisfaction. Follow Jesus into the light of hope. 

Remember, hope is it a thing, it's a Person. He never disappoints. 

What mini-heroes have you crafted in your life? 

I Need Thee

One of my dear friend Greg Stevens' favorite songs captured this thought: "I Need Thee Every Hour."

We need God. It is not until we feel the depths of our souls utter poverty without Christ, our bankruptcy of any righteousness, the puny nature of our own strength, and self-sufficient planning, our indescribable loneliness when we are out of fellowship with God, the pathetic nature of our pride, that we know just how much we need God.

Every Hour I Need Thee!

Yes, we need to feel our need. Where real need is not felt, there is rarely any real praying. When Paul tells us to keep “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication . . . for all the saints," it’s in the context of grasping the nature of the war we’re in, and our helplessness without God in the face of the overwhelming power of our enemy.

Desperation drove our forefathers to prayer, and it’s what drives us to prayer too. Our places of desperation are the places of God’s revelation of His power.

I Come to Thee!

When we feel deeply our need, we go to Christ. Friends, go to Christ asking, and seeking, and knocking. Keep going! Keep going! Never stop going to Him. When you lose that feeling of need, you've lost too much. In fact, you are lost.

Soul Lonliness

At the soul of who God made us -- where Psalmist David calls "the innermost being" -- God first touched dirt and fashioned in us the capacity to create and dream, to need Him and each other. He created a soul in each of us.

The soul does not survive on successes and the soul cannot be fed with productivity or achievement. The soul becomes lonely.

In a sea of voices, stories, experiences, do you find yourself alone?

The soul hungers to be fed --
-- by quiet things.  Like a walk in the morning, with the sound of wind blowing through the trees.
-- by stillness.  Like sitting quietly, somewhere out of the noise of life
-- by prayer.  As you pour out every thought and feeling, confiding as friend to friend with Jesus.
-- by choosing the small.  Like stopping to listen to a friend who is feels troubled or in need.

When Jesus finally arrived on earth to share the greatest Message anyone had ever known, Jesus choose to invest and spend His time with just 12 everyday, ordinary people. Jesus didn't spread His message in the synagogues and temples.
Jesus focused on experiencing life with everyday people who didn't have any access to large venues or power structures. Jesus chose to be present in His everyday life. Jesus was real.

When Jesus resurrected from the dead, He could have done a gazillion high profile things. Instead, Jesus went to a beach, made a fire and cooked some fish and warmed bread on hot stones to love on His weary-worn friends, discouraged with empty nets.

He loved them by experiencing life with them. "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." (Mark 6:31) -- while He himself "often withdrew to the lonely places and prayed." (Luke 5:16).

Jesus longs for this intimacy with us.

What are you letting come between you and experiencing life with God -- and others?

Let God love you. Today.

Make room to be present. As is. Take your rightful place with Him. Invited rather than driven.
In those quiet moments, something real and honest will flow out of you and me, transforming our world into a more beautiful place. Work will no longer be about striving.  We will no longer be lonely people. We will journey together by faith.

"I will heal your wandering. I will love you freely. You will be like dew to Israel, you will blossom like the lily..." Hosea 14:4