"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]" Matthew 11:28 (AMP)
This is my last entry for the year, and as I reflect on the year I see the amazing obstacles overcome as the hand of God has been so evident in my life. However, if there was one thing I wish I would have done more of is.... rest. I spent way too much time striving, and not enough time heeding the invitation by God to come and rest.
If you think about it, rest is important to God. He rested on the 7th day after undertaking His vast creation project. Jesus continually retreated to places after preaching so that He could pray and rest. Rest is essential for our wholeness and well-being, and Jesus is inviting us to lay down every obstacle at His feet so that He could give us rest. So if there is one thing you I encourage you to do more of in 2012 is...don't strive with thinking about your problems, worries, or concerns. In the end He'll take care of you, the only work you need to do is come to Jesus and find your rest.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Liberal Supply
"And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 (AMP)
I'm sure that many people out there wonder, "How are we going to make it?" They say this as the sickness sets in, or the finances continue to dwindle, and the skeptics of a real God begin to pose their doubts. It's a sort of hopelessness that grips the very soul and causes doubt to rise.
Then Paul (a prisoner in a Roman jail) writes something peculiar, changing the very paradigm of human reasoning. In essence, He's saying don't worry because God will supply all you need. Instantly, the bastion of the grace message is born, because Paul doesn't stipulate a condition by which this will happen (if you do this, then this will happen). He states that because of Christ, all of God's supply is available to us. Changing forever the performance based works that people kept building up for others to follow.
My friends if you understand one thing, understand this... God is for you! He's for your success, your prosperity, and your happiness. He has made all of heaven's resources available to you for your time of need. All you have to do is believe and receive your liberal supply.
I'm sure that many people out there wonder, "How are we going to make it?" They say this as the sickness sets in, or the finances continue to dwindle, and the skeptics of a real God begin to pose their doubts. It's a sort of hopelessness that grips the very soul and causes doubt to rise.
Then Paul (a prisoner in a Roman jail) writes something peculiar, changing the very paradigm of human reasoning. In essence, He's saying don't worry because God will supply all you need. Instantly, the bastion of the grace message is born, because Paul doesn't stipulate a condition by which this will happen (if you do this, then this will happen). He states that because of Christ, all of God's supply is available to us. Changing forever the performance based works that people kept building up for others to follow.
My friends if you understand one thing, understand this... God is for you! He's for your success, your prosperity, and your happiness. He has made all of heaven's resources available to you for your time of need. All you have to do is believe and receive your liberal supply.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
The Way Ahead
"God thunder's mightily with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend." Job 37:5 (AMP)
The new year approaches for us and so do thoughts of resolution and change. We so badly want to erase the mistakes of the past year and to step into a new year filled with hope for a better future. Often times however, we make the mistake of making those thoughts just that... thoughts instead of action.
God however envisions for us a future full of hope (Jeremiah 29:11), He desires for us to prosper as our soul prospers (3 John 1:2), for he has made us above and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28:11-13). What am I saying? I'm saying that God's plan for us this year go far beyond our comprehension, and that's ok especially when we know it's for our benefit and not our harm.
The new year approaches for us and so do thoughts of resolution and change. We so badly want to erase the mistakes of the past year and to step into a new year filled with hope for a better future. Often times however, we make the mistake of making those thoughts just that... thoughts instead of action.
God however envisions for us a future full of hope (Jeremiah 29:11), He desires for us to prosper as our soul prospers (3 John 1:2), for he has made us above and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28:11-13). What am I saying? I'm saying that God's plan for us this year go far beyond our comprehension, and that's ok especially when we know it's for our benefit and not our harm.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Can't Even Understand It
"For from of old no one has heard or percieved by ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides you, Who works and shows Himself active on behalf of him who [earnestly] waits for Him." Isaiah 64:4 (AMP)
When I stop for a moment and think about the goodness of the Lord and what He does for such an unworthy person as I, I can't even understand how its possible for love like that to be lavished upon me. The beauty about God is that He's always responding to those who wait on Him, because it is these people who know the true nature of God.
These people have been rescued from the worst circumstances and been promoted into a life of prosperity and abundance. These people were once down and out and now are up and thriving. No eye can conceive this, nor can any ear percieve because this goodness simply doesn't exist anywhere else. That's why He's worth waiting on! :)
When I stop for a moment and think about the goodness of the Lord and what He does for such an unworthy person as I, I can't even understand how its possible for love like that to be lavished upon me. The beauty about God is that He's always responding to those who wait on Him, because it is these people who know the true nature of God.
These people have been rescued from the worst circumstances and been promoted into a life of prosperity and abundance. These people were once down and out and now are up and thriving. No eye can conceive this, nor can any ear percieve because this goodness simply doesn't exist anywhere else. That's why He's worth waiting on! :)
Friday, December 23, 2011
Terrified Joy
"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people." Luke 2:9-10
God's timing is impeccable, almost too impeccable for our own human reasoning. Consider the shepherds that night. All resting taking care of their sheep then suddenly...the heavens open up and a brilliant display of lights and angels appear to them that was so awesome it terrifies them.
God's message of hope to us can arrive at the most unexpected times. Even at times where we don't expect but when it comes, God looks to allay our surprise and tells us to rejoice. In this particular instance, these shepherds were possibly the first to be invited to the celebration of a lifetime. Isn't it amazing how God would come near by bringing an unsuspecting group of people (who would otherwise be overlooked and neglected) the news of their lifetime. What a mighty God we serve!
God's timing is impeccable, almost too impeccable for our own human reasoning. Consider the shepherds that night. All resting taking care of their sheep then suddenly...the heavens open up and a brilliant display of lights and angels appear to them that was so awesome it terrifies them.
God's message of hope to us can arrive at the most unexpected times. Even at times where we don't expect but when it comes, God looks to allay our surprise and tells us to rejoice. In this particular instance, these shepherds were possibly the first to be invited to the celebration of a lifetime. Isn't it amazing how God would come near by bringing an unsuspecting group of people (who would otherwise be overlooked and neglected) the news of their lifetime. What a mighty God we serve!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Give or Take
"The thief (Satan) only comes in to steal and kill and destroy. I (Jesus) came that they may have and ejoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full till it overflows)." John 10:10 (Amplified)
Quite a paradoxical bible verse to say the least, but this verse probably above all other verses shows the divide between God's and Satan's intent for our lives. To give or to take, that is the question.
Look at this world from a 40,000 foot objective. They are hammering a young professional athlete who gives his resources to the Philippines to help underpriviledged families and children, who gives his praise to God and his teammates, and so on. The world despises him because he doesn't take the praise for himself, nor does he make life about what others could do for him. It makes me feel gross just thinking about it but it's the plain truth for all to see.
Jesus was quite the same polarizing figure. The religious establishment hated the fact that He was so inclusive and giving in His messages. They hated the fact that He had grace for those caught up in the midst of sin, and condemned those who were all about themselves. In thousands of years the tension of give or take is still very prominent. I pray that we'd learn to receive the goodness and grace of God for us, and learn how to be givers of the same to others.
Quite a paradoxical bible verse to say the least, but this verse probably above all other verses shows the divide between God's and Satan's intent for our lives. To give or to take, that is the question.
Look at this world from a 40,000 foot objective. They are hammering a young professional athlete who gives his resources to the Philippines to help underpriviledged families and children, who gives his praise to God and his teammates, and so on. The world despises him because he doesn't take the praise for himself, nor does he make life about what others could do for him. It makes me feel gross just thinking about it but it's the plain truth for all to see.
Jesus was quite the same polarizing figure. The religious establishment hated the fact that He was so inclusive and giving in His messages. They hated the fact that He had grace for those caught up in the midst of sin, and condemned those who were all about themselves. In thousands of years the tension of give or take is still very prominent. I pray that we'd learn to receive the goodness and grace of God for us, and learn how to be givers of the same to others.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Faith
"It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him." Hebrews 11:6 (The Message)
Every morning when I wake up to go to work I turn the key to my car and I have faith that it will start. Every morning when I wake up I go to the computer to write my devotional and I have faith that it will turn on. These examples are all demonstrated acts of faith that we really don't think much about. Why? We all have an inherent belief that these things will work because if they didn't then we would go back to whatever store we found it and return it. It's also easy to trust what you can see, but what about what you cannot see?
Jesus said to Thomas after his resurrection, "So, you believe because you've seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing." (John 20:29) Thomas had trusted each day that Jesus would be there with all of them until His death. After Jesus' death Thomas didn't believe accounts by others that Jesus was alive and wanted to see with his own eyes and touch with his own hands. Jesus told his disciples that He would return but the despair brought about by his death wiped away all memory from their minds, because they let external circumstances govern their faith.
2 Corinthians 4:18 says, "The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever." Don't only trust the five senses you were given. Trust the unseen, the eternal. How did you end up with the breath of life? How did we end up on a planet so perfectly suited for us? How do we know the wind blows, or why it blows? I don't really know the answer to these questions but I do know that if God cared enough to make this for us then I can at least take a leap of faith in believing who He is...
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