Hello folks!
It has been AWHILE!!
but. after reading my devotions this morning, I felt inspired to share a simple message.
The first chapter in Daniel talks about how King Nebuchadnezzer searched for men who were healthy and handsome, intelligent, and well-educated, good prospects for leadership positions in the government, perfect specimens! and he wanted to indoctrinate them in the Babylonian language and the lore of magic and fortunetelling. The king ordered that they be served from THE SAME MENU AS THE ROYAL TABLE. . . YUM. and then after THREE YEARS of eating this AMAZING food, the king would make his decision on who to have work with him.
So, lets stop here for a second.. You work hard all your life, your intelligent, educated, hardworking, you try to be a leader... then you get this guy, a king, who doesn't really have your best interest in mind wanting to get you all into magic, but he does offer to take care of you for THREE years with the best of foods..
I think most people would take the food, and eat it. At least get one good meal out of it.
But Daniel refused to eat it. " Daniel was determined that he would not defile himself by eating the king' s food or drinking his wine" so he asked if he could eat vegetables and water instead... and he ate VEGETABLES and WATER for THREE YEARS.
So.. eating the meals, wouldn't really be a 'sin' I suppose, but it would be taking something from the enemy, it would be a small step towards the king, and his ways. Daniel was so focused on God and what God was doing in his life that he wouldn't even get the food.
Sometimes the world offers Christian's things that seem harmless, and it can seem as harmless as a royal dinner, but sometimes that leads you down a path of destruction, and really... your better off eating vegetables and water.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday, July 5, 2010
July 5th
God is continually faithful. God will open the doors that need to be opened for us to continue on his path. He will pick us up when we fall,and he will help us find oureslves in him. As we discover his heart we will uncover his heart for our own lives and will find his divine will. God will clear confusion, grant us peace, still rushing waters, be our everything if we would just submit our lives completely; COMPLETELY to him. We can't afford ignorance of God and his commands in any area of our lives. We must submit all aspects of our lives to him.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Honor
My parents went away for a week to Cuba, and during that week, I though I could maintain the house just as my mom would if she had been home. However, throughout the week, I realized that I'm not very experienced with the dishwasher or washing machine, nor do I have much passion for house cleaning.
Days later when my parents returned, my mom told me that she only really started to enjoy keeping the house tidy and clean when her and my dad got married and had an unbelievable relationship together. My mom was motivated to do whatever she could to keep make my dad smile, she did it our of love and honor and with a great attitude.
As Christians, the more time and energy we put into our relationship with God, the easier it will be to be motivated to keep our 'house' being our lives, hearts and minds clean and pure for him. It will be an effort that we won't mind putting forth, it will be a sacrifice we won't mind giving up, because it will be out of love honor and passion for our Saviour.
Days later when my parents returned, my mom told me that she only really started to enjoy keeping the house tidy and clean when her and my dad got married and had an unbelievable relationship together. My mom was motivated to do whatever she could to keep make my dad smile, she did it our of love and honor and with a great attitude.
As Christians, the more time and energy we put into our relationship with God, the easier it will be to be motivated to keep our 'house' being our lives, hearts and minds clean and pure for him. It will be an effort that we won't mind putting forth, it will be a sacrifice we won't mind giving up, because it will be out of love honor and passion for our Saviour.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Forgiveness
Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times."
(Matthew 18:21-22 NRSV)
In life we always find it hard to forgive someone who has sinned against us, hurt us, or let us down. But we all fool up, just in different ways. Where would we be if we only had a three strikes and your out rule, even seven ?
We must forgive as Christ forgave us, and continues to forgive us. Look at how many times we've turned our backs on God and sinned against him. Forgiveness and Mercy is the same each time, just as strong, just as legit.
(Matthew 18:21-22 NRSV)
In life we always find it hard to forgive someone who has sinned against us, hurt us, or let us down. But we all fool up, just in different ways. Where would we be if we only had a three strikes and your out rule, even seven ?
We must forgive as Christ forgave us, and continues to forgive us. Look at how many times we've turned our backs on God and sinned against him. Forgiveness and Mercy is the same each time, just as strong, just as legit.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
contentment
In a Society that plays on increasing our wants and desires for trivial worldly things, its sometimes difficult to find contentment in what we do have.
I have found myself in a situation where I have had it figured out in my head as too what I would like it to look like. I have my plan, and what I think is best, and with the situation still unfolding, It has been hard to be content while not knowing if the plan I would like will come to fruition. However it was only today I realized that we will never be content in relying on our own plans, but true contentment is only found in relying and trusting in Gods plans. If we place our lives and trust in him, no matter what the outcome is we know it was apart of his plan for our lives. If we don't get what we want today, look at all we have to be thankful for ! We have no room to complain! God's plan for us today is wonderful, even if it doesn't look exactly like what we pictured. Sometimes we're lucky enough to have both, what we want is what God wants. But when its not, think about who has our lives in his hand. I think he is more than trustworthy, and is more than dependable. He wants nothing but the best for us, and truly does have everything in control. Delight in his plans today, and when you kneel by your bed at night, thank him for what you do have, and what blessings unfolded today.
When we put our own plans aside and trust in Gods, we will be content and have a joy in our hearts that remains no matter what.
- put aside what you think is best
- trust god , and you still may get what you think is best. but if not, his plan is even better.
- in continual daily trust comes stress free contentment and joy knowing that we have the ultimate 'planner' in control of our lives. Someone who sees the full picture when we can't.
I have found myself in a situation where I have had it figured out in my head as too what I would like it to look like. I have my plan, and what I think is best, and with the situation still unfolding, It has been hard to be content while not knowing if the plan I would like will come to fruition. However it was only today I realized that we will never be content in relying on our own plans, but true contentment is only found in relying and trusting in Gods plans. If we place our lives and trust in him, no matter what the outcome is we know it was apart of his plan for our lives. If we don't get what we want today, look at all we have to be thankful for ! We have no room to complain! God's plan for us today is wonderful, even if it doesn't look exactly like what we pictured. Sometimes we're lucky enough to have both, what we want is what God wants. But when its not, think about who has our lives in his hand. I think he is more than trustworthy, and is more than dependable. He wants nothing but the best for us, and truly does have everything in control. Delight in his plans today, and when you kneel by your bed at night, thank him for what you do have, and what blessings unfolded today.
When we put our own plans aside and trust in Gods, we will be content and have a joy in our hearts that remains no matter what.
- put aside what you think is best
- trust god , and you still may get what you think is best. but if not, his plan is even better.
- in continual daily trust comes stress free contentment and joy knowing that we have the ultimate 'planner' in control of our lives. Someone who sees the full picture when we can't.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Sit and sulk, or pray and conquer?
When first reading the following, you first think that it is a flatout depressing statement.
" We're all in the same sinking boat"
However we can take from this three important lessons.
1. No one is perfect, we all fail over and over again.
There are days when we feel worthless and uncapable of doing any good, or anything right. We were created with the inability of attaining perfection, its simply impossible. That is why there is such thing as grace and mercy. It is in our weaknesses that God can be strong. If we were perfect, we wouldn't need God. So its in our desperate situations, where we fail, that God can step in and do his thing.
2. We're not alone
Note how it says we're ALL in the SAME sinking boat. Although our struggles and weaknesses may differ, they leave us all with some sort of sin and failure. Whether its a problem lying, or a problem with jealousy, and the list goes on; sin is sin in Gods eyes, and we're all guilty of it. All of us have our imperfections, thus no one is better than another.
3. We can do something about it..
We have a choice in the 'sinking boat'
a) sit there and sulk.
b) sit there and pray for rescue
c) get up and start trying to get some of the water out of the boat.
Personally, I don't reccomend A.
However a lot of times we find ourselves letting A control our lives and situations. Something goes wrong, we don't understand why something happened, or our obstacle seems to big to attempt and defeat. So we accept it and do nothing. We come to a conclusion that we can't do much about it so why try and explore for a solution. This is the wrong attitude because God is greater than all our problems and confusion.He always holds a solution.
Lets look at B..
Prayer is very important. Prayer and seeking Gods guidance, will and purpose in each situation life throws at us, or each struggle we face. However, if we're in a sinking boat, we are going to want to incorporate prayer with action.
C.
We need to get up and do something. In the sinking boat, we would try and keep it afloat by getting water off board. But in our own strength, we would fail. We probably wouldn't last with a hole in the boat during calm seas, let alone a storm.The hole representing any struggles in our lives and our reactions to these struggles that causes the boat to sink. So our actions must be empowered by God and his holy spirit, we must seek his strength for we will not last on our own.We need to acknowledge that we need him to be strong in our weakness and use us to accomplish his work. For without him we are nothing. We need support from fellow Christians as well to work together and keep things afloat. Accountability is key.
So .
lets try to incorperate B and C into our lives, not so much the sitting down part, but the prayer and action.
Sit and Sulk ? or Pray and conquer?
you choose.
" We're all in the same sinking boat"
However we can take from this three important lessons.
1. No one is perfect, we all fail over and over again.
There are days when we feel worthless and uncapable of doing any good, or anything right. We were created with the inability of attaining perfection, its simply impossible. That is why there is such thing as grace and mercy. It is in our weaknesses that God can be strong. If we were perfect, we wouldn't need God. So its in our desperate situations, where we fail, that God can step in and do his thing.
2. We're not alone
Note how it says we're ALL in the SAME sinking boat. Although our struggles and weaknesses may differ, they leave us all with some sort of sin and failure. Whether its a problem lying, or a problem with jealousy, and the list goes on; sin is sin in Gods eyes, and we're all guilty of it. All of us have our imperfections, thus no one is better than another.
3. We can do something about it..
We have a choice in the 'sinking boat'
a) sit there and sulk.
b) sit there and pray for rescue
c) get up and start trying to get some of the water out of the boat.
Personally, I don't reccomend A.
However a lot of times we find ourselves letting A control our lives and situations. Something goes wrong, we don't understand why something happened, or our obstacle seems to big to attempt and defeat. So we accept it and do nothing. We come to a conclusion that we can't do much about it so why try and explore for a solution. This is the wrong attitude because God is greater than all our problems and confusion.He always holds a solution.
Lets look at B..
Prayer is very important. Prayer and seeking Gods guidance, will and purpose in each situation life throws at us, or each struggle we face. However, if we're in a sinking boat, we are going to want to incorporate prayer with action.
C.
We need to get up and do something. In the sinking boat, we would try and keep it afloat by getting water off board. But in our own strength, we would fail. We probably wouldn't last with a hole in the boat during calm seas, let alone a storm.The hole representing any struggles in our lives and our reactions to these struggles that causes the boat to sink. So our actions must be empowered by God and his holy spirit, we must seek his strength for we will not last on our own.We need to acknowledge that we need him to be strong in our weakness and use us to accomplish his work. For without him we are nothing. We need support from fellow Christians as well to work together and keep things afloat. Accountability is key.
So .
lets try to incorperate B and C into our lives, not so much the sitting down part, but the prayer and action.
Sit and Sulk ? or Pray and conquer?
you choose.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
make a difference.
31-33"When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.
34-36"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why:
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.'
37-40"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'
41-43"Then he will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on his left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—
I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.'
44"Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?'
45"He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.'
46"Then those 'goats' will be herded to their eternal doom, but the 'sheep' to their eternal reward."
We need to start living out our faith in this manner. Living selfless lives as Christ did constantly serving others, those who are in need. Faith without works is dead, so we can preach and read and write about these issues of poverty and the less fortunate all we want, but if we continue to drive and walk by them everyday without doing anything about it, its worth nothing. We must practice what we preach and do something about it. Start pouring our time, and efforts, and financial blessings into the lives of others who need it most. Below are plenty of verses in the new testament outlining the importance of living out 'selfless servant hood' We need to focus our attention in this direction a little more often..
"Jesus answered, If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'" Matthew 19:21
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in." Matthew 25:35
"They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely." Mark 12:40
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed." Luke 4:18
"So he replied to the messengers, Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.'" Luke 7:22
"Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys." Luke 12:33
"But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind." Luke 14:13
"When Jesus heard this, he said to him, You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'" Luke 18:22
"Beware of the teachers of the law . . . They devour your widows' houses . . . Such men will be punished severely." Luke 20:46-47
"Cornelius stared at him in fear. What is it, Lord?' he asked. The angel answered, Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.'" Acts 10:4
"On the contrary: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.'" Romans 12:20
"All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do." Galatians 2:10
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27
"Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, 'Here's a good seat for you,' but say to the poor man, 'You stand there' or 'Sit on the floor by my feet,' have you not discriminated among yourselves and becomes judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?" James 2:2-6
"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18
34-36"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why:
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.'
37-40"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'
41-43"Then he will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on his left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—
I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.'
44"Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?'
45"He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.'
46"Then those 'goats' will be herded to their eternal doom, but the 'sheep' to their eternal reward."
We need to start living out our faith in this manner. Living selfless lives as Christ did constantly serving others, those who are in need. Faith without works is dead, so we can preach and read and write about these issues of poverty and the less fortunate all we want, but if we continue to drive and walk by them everyday without doing anything about it, its worth nothing. We must practice what we preach and do something about it. Start pouring our time, and efforts, and financial blessings into the lives of others who need it most. Below are plenty of verses in the new testament outlining the importance of living out 'selfless servant hood' We need to focus our attention in this direction a little more often..
"Jesus answered, If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'" Matthew 19:21
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in." Matthew 25:35
"They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely." Mark 12:40
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed." Luke 4:18
"So he replied to the messengers, Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.'" Luke 7:22
"Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys." Luke 12:33
"But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind." Luke 14:13
"When Jesus heard this, he said to him, You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'" Luke 18:22
"Beware of the teachers of the law . . . They devour your widows' houses . . . Such men will be punished severely." Luke 20:46-47
"Cornelius stared at him in fear. What is it, Lord?' he asked. The angel answered, Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.'" Acts 10:4
"On the contrary: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.'" Romans 12:20
"All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do." Galatians 2:10
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27
"Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, 'Here's a good seat for you,' but say to the poor man, 'You stand there' or 'Sit on the floor by my feet,' have you not discriminated among yourselves and becomes judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?" James 2:2-6
"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:17-18
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