Today during my devotion I read an analogy about trusting God. The author compared our need to trust God in life to walking through a minefield. If someone knew where all the mines were hidden and was willing to guide us step by step through the mine field we would follow their every command without question. Step here to live, don't step there or you will die. God only wants the best for us so why don't we trust him to avoid the mines in the field of life?
I think the author poses a good question but I have another. Why doesn't God just help us to avoid the minefields altogether? Wouldn't that be safer?...........Wouldn't that be easier?..........
It might be safer and easier but would we learn to lean on God that way? Would we really grow closer to the one who created us without the need to trust him in that way? What kind of people would we become without trials of life to help us experience the full care and wisdom and love of God? Perhaps we would become spoiled, ungrateful, spiritually undeveloped children. Children who would never get to know just how much God loves us because we would never get to experience his enduring love during the hard times.
God is much more than a fair weather friend. He is a friend for all times, a father for all seasons, the redeemer of all people, a savior.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Sticks & Stones may break my bones but staffs that turn to snakes scare me!!
During my daily devotion time this evening Iwas reading Exodus chapter 2-4. Now, I have read this scripture before but the Spirit shed some new light on it for me tonight that I though Iwould share. Many of us would like to have a burning bush moment like Moses did. I know there have been times when I prayed, "God can you please just spell it out for me, you know like burn a bush, write it on a wall, smack me over the head with it or something. ;D Sound familiar? I hope so...I hope I am not the only one who has struggled with hearing the father on this journey. Well as I read along this evening one particular set of verses caught my attention.
1 Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?"
2 Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied.
3 The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the LORD said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.
Exodus 4:1-4 (New International Version)
Now for a long while I believed that God really did this so that the Isrealites would believe what Moses had to say and that he really was speaking for God.
Tonight however the Spirit revealed a different view to me....God didn't do this for the Isrealites, he did this for Moses. God would not have sent Moses to the Isrealites without first making the way possible. All Moses really needed to do was to respond to God by doing as the father asked but Moses was scared. God gave Moses this super staff not really to impress anyone else but to empower Moses to do what he needed to do. Much like giving a child a "special magic blanket" to make them invisible to the "Boogie Man" so they can sleep alone at night without being afraid of the dark.
This brings to mind many times I have felt like God was asking me to do something only to keep asking over and over, "God is this really what you want me to do or am I just imagining this?".
My prayer tonight is that I will never need God to give me a "special magic blanket" and that as you read this post you won't need one either.
Let us all follow the leading of the Spirit without question and without fail. The God who created us and loves us would never ask his children to do something that he doesn't allready know we can if we only trust in him.
1 Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?"
2 Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied.
3 The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the LORD said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.
Exodus 4:1-4 (New International Version)
Now for a long while I believed that God really did this so that the Isrealites would believe what Moses had to say and that he really was speaking for God.
Tonight however the Spirit revealed a different view to me....God didn't do this for the Isrealites, he did this for Moses. God would not have sent Moses to the Isrealites without first making the way possible. All Moses really needed to do was to respond to God by doing as the father asked but Moses was scared. God gave Moses this super staff not really to impress anyone else but to empower Moses to do what he needed to do. Much like giving a child a "special magic blanket" to make them invisible to the "Boogie Man" so they can sleep alone at night without being afraid of the dark.
This brings to mind many times I have felt like God was asking me to do something only to keep asking over and over, "God is this really what you want me to do or am I just imagining this?".
My prayer tonight is that I will never need God to give me a "special magic blanket" and that as you read this post you won't need one either.
Let us all follow the leading of the Spirit without question and without fail. The God who created us and loves us would never ask his children to do something that he doesn't allready know we can if we only trust in him.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Answered Prayer
This week has truly been a life lesson in faith. Most of you know that I am a part time youth pastor and work full time in my cabinet shop. I would love it if God made it possible for me to serve him in ministry full time but, in his wisdom, he hasn't made that happen as of yet.
All that being said, God has kept me so busy lately with the things he has led me to do that I found myself becoming uncomfortable with the idea that I haven't been spending as much time working at my business to make a living for my family as I need to.
Now we all know that we are supposed to respond to Gods call in faith and not worry about the details. We are supposed to trust that while we are trying to stay in the center of Gods will that he knows what we need and will take care of us.
My prayer last night was; "Father please reveal yourself to me, reveal to me where you are at work around me and what I need to do to join you. Lord as I struggle to make changes in my life to serve you, help me to have faith and believe that you will take care of me and my families needs. Amen.
Well this morning I awoke feeling that things were taken care of and all would be well. The phone at work has been ringing like crazy today. We so many prospects for work come in today for no good reason that it was easy to see this was truly God answering prayer and keeping his promises.
Thank you father for teaching, hearing, answering and being ever faithful to your children.
All that being said, God has kept me so busy lately with the things he has led me to do that I found myself becoming uncomfortable with the idea that I haven't been spending as much time working at my business to make a living for my family as I need to.
Now we all know that we are supposed to respond to Gods call in faith and not worry about the details. We are supposed to trust that while we are trying to stay in the center of Gods will that he knows what we need and will take care of us.
My prayer last night was; "Father please reveal yourself to me, reveal to me where you are at work around me and what I need to do to join you. Lord as I struggle to make changes in my life to serve you, help me to have faith and believe that you will take care of me and my families needs. Amen.
Well this morning I awoke feeling that things were taken care of and all would be well. The phone at work has been ringing like crazy today. We so many prospects for work come in today for no good reason that it was easy to see this was truly God answering prayer and keeping his promises.
Thank you father for teaching, hearing, answering and being ever faithful to your children.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Meeting at the Crossroads - May 7, 2008
Wow, what a great day with God today has been.
I can't share to much info, but its safe for me to tell you that I got to see God guide a secular educational company to want to partner with our church to help young people in ways I would never have thought possible!!! Praise God!!
Tonight, the Meeting at the Crossroads was yet another amazing chance to see God at work.
I have to be honest, I have never seen a group of young people so interested in sharing a devotion. The bright, well articulated insights given by the students were so refreshing.
The Holy Spirit was truly there with us tonight teaching and revealing truths in ways we had never considered. One question that I found particularly interesting was " When we finish a task and feel frustrated that lasting spiritual fruit is not visible, could the reason be we are attempting very little that only God can do?".
Just how much of what we decide to do is something that could only really work out if God made it. Its so much easier to attempt things we feel comfortable we can accomplish in our strength and power using our talents.
What is God calling you to do today that you feel completely unqualified to pull off?
I can't share to much info, but its safe for me to tell you that I got to see God guide a secular educational company to want to partner with our church to help young people in ways I would never have thought possible!!! Praise God!!
Tonight, the Meeting at the Crossroads was yet another amazing chance to see God at work.
I have to be honest, I have never seen a group of young people so interested in sharing a devotion. The bright, well articulated insights given by the students were so refreshing.
The Holy Spirit was truly there with us tonight teaching and revealing truths in ways we had never considered. One question that I found particularly interesting was " When we finish a task and feel frustrated that lasting spiritual fruit is not visible, could the reason be we are attempting very little that only God can do?".
Just how much of what we decide to do is something that could only really work out if God made it. Its so much easier to attempt things we feel comfortable we can accomplish in our strength and power using our talents.
What is God calling you to do today that you feel completely unqualified to pull off?
Monday, May 5, 2008
First Post
Hi all!
This is my first blog. I have alot to learn about this thing but look forward to having a platform to share the love of Jesus Christ even when i am sleeping!!
This is my first blog. I have alot to learn about this thing but look forward to having a platform to share the love of Jesus Christ even when i am sleeping!!
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