Thankful or Bitter

“All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled…” Hebrews 12:11-15

There is a method to the madness… a purpose behind all the twists and turns and bumps in the road of life. On this side of glory its easy to see dark clouds, frightening-lightening, and eerie trouble brewing… yet the purpose could bring rain and life and growth… God’s thoughts are higher than ours Isaiah 55:9.

Did you know that God would have us give Him thanks to him at all times? Colossians 3:17; Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; 1 Timothy 2:1… hopefully, you ask… why? Why would God have me give Him thanks when I’m hurting, when I’ve faced loss or failure or misfortune? Because He loves you!

It’s easy to give thanks when everything is going well, anyone can do that. But God’s kids are special and He desires of us to behave differently as well. God knows that we are going or will go through tough times… he directs them our way… Psalm 44:22; Isaiah 45:7; Judges 9:23; 1 Chronicles 21:15; Also, God is very concerned with our hearts. He’s not so concerned with our appearance, our circumstances, our income, or our status… God looks at the heart… “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7.

Character matters! Especially to God. Character-Fruit such as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control… Galatians 5:22… these are what God is looking for in our lives… so he must purge out of us… “immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing”… Galatians 5:19-21…

So, what happens if we have a terrible thing happen and we don’t for a moment… pray and find His grace to give Him some form of thanks? We become bitter. A tiny root of bitterness is planted in our heart. God loves us and so he sends us back around the same mountain again… again, we don’t see God in the circumstance, again we fail to give him any recognition at all… that root of bitterness… grows. Unfortunately, we have myriads of roots of bitterness working in us now and we don’t realize it… when we fail to glorify God then we start down the Romans 1:21-32 road…

Yet, there is a great hope found in Hebrews 13:15 “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” and “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” James 1:2-3

Giving thanks makes us thankful over time. Giving thanks during hard times stops bitterness in its tracks and allows us to have a pure heart… a pure God can see God in the circumstances, in the instruments that he is using… all to work on our lives… change our hearts.

This Thanksgiving… can you give God thanks for all that’s gone wrong this past year? Can you will your stubborn nature to do that? Can you look back and see God there? Or, when looking back… are you bitter, you will know… Proverbs 14:10…

Or, can you look at all that you’ve gone through and see that most of the pain and problems… you caused… and in seeing that, tasting that… find the sweetness there?... Proverbs 27:7

May the Lord give you grace to see the sweetness even in the midst of great bitter moments in this coming year!

May you and yours enjoy a peaceful, quiet, and thank-filled Thanksgiving!

Thankful

Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:14-17

There’s a lot to be thankful for… there truly is! There may be storm clouds building all around us or in our lives and yet can we be grateful. Can we ‘count our blessings, name them one by one…’ as the hymn goes, or are we hurt, bitter, afraid, and fearful of the future. If God’s Word is not in your life then you probably are afraid… and you probably are fearful of an uncertain future… there is a great hope just beyond the veil of God’s perfect timing…

For one we can be thankful that we have access to God’s Word. Millions in the world do not. Number two… we can come together and hold worship services, small group Bible studies, weekly or monthly prayer breakfasts… vast people cannot imagine these freedoms we take for granted. And three you have people who love you, people praying for you, people serving in the Armed Forces all over the world so that you can have the freedom to be thankful or not to be.

Consider, that these folks leave their families and homes and go beyond our boundaries to serve… they serve not an institution, not a piece of paper or cloth on a pole, but a hope… a hope for freedom in where they serve and at home as well. That’s pretty important and very, very special and something very worthwhile to give God thanks for.

Fourthly, we have shelter and food and warmth from the cold. Next we have jobs and good bosses and friends there who care. Or, we have rotten bosses and people who mock our Christianity all the time… thank you for the strength to suffer well…

Number six, seven and so on…, we have health, the ability to see, to hear, and to reason. What then keeps us from being thankful, from giving thanks, from praising God?

Giving thanks is another action of the will. It taking cultivating, it must grow, it must be practiced. It comes from a realization of a need. A need greater than what you on your own can provide. A developing hunger that you’ve realized that nothing in this world can or will satisfy. A longing for more… and finding a satisfaction in our living Lord, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

For when all has been forgiven… When the emptiness in your soul is filled with love... When a peace prevails in you that you simply cannot fully explain… When you catch a glimpse of your formal life and compare it with what is now… then how can you not be thankful? Will not praise rise from the most sacred place in your heart and move you in word or deed to bless the Most High? Truly, in this season and all the rest we have much to give thanks for!

‘Father, thank you for your love. Thank you for this great salvation that I still do not fully comprehend. Thank you for friends and family, for love and laughter, for sorrow and comfort. Thank you for mercy that reminds me you are not finished with me yet. Thank you for grace that touches me and reminds me also of the forgiveness, the mercy, the care, and the encouraging of others that I’m called to do. Thank you for America, for the troops in harms way, and for their families. Lord, may we give thanks this Thanksgiving for your blessings and the service of others.

Forgiveness

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:23

Forgiveness is never easy but then… it would not be worth while. To forgive someone else a wrong is more than emotional it is an act of the will. For if we live on emotions alone… we won’t forgive. There is simply too much fire in an emotional state to think rationally, to behave soberly. The ambers of anger must cool down enough to allow tenderness and mercy to breath.

And once breathed into life these two comfort the heart, quince the smoldering emotions, and warm the cooling heart. Hopefully, an once of reflection will occur and we will see… our own faults; and once seeing our coal-black nature we will seek forgiveness…

To forgive is to look beyond the offense and into the heart of the other. It is seeing the hurt, the pain, the anger, and the frustration that brought on the offense. It is seeing the humanity in another and recognizing one’s own limited and faulty nature.

Forgiveness frees our hearts and minds to give, to care, to hope, and to pray for the other. Anything and all insults are forgivable. True, at first we may need to put a rope around our donkey-stubborn-nature and drag our cranky attitudes to face our offender but after the first sacrifice… it does get easier.

Again and again it may prove difficult but after a short while the offense doesn’t hurt so much, the flame not so high, and the bitterness not so widespread. Over time true forgiveness can occur and ‘by and by’ forgiveness will turn an offender to a friend.

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Dirty Sheep

“Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God's words; if help, let it be God's hearty help. That way, God's bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!” 1 Peter 4:7-11

These are tough times indeed! The news services are frantically capturing the latest twist and turn of a society spinning downward into further morale decay and decadence. That, which folks have trusted in and hoped, the financial, legal, or political systems have let them down. Leaders have let us down, families are in turmoil, and the dreams of many are fading.
What if… the very things that we’ve sought after and so longed for were… wrong. Could so many be mistaken? Has not history proven the gullibility of a generation, a people, or a nation?

While leaders keep silent… what happens to the sheep? Who speaks for the broken, the wounded, the poor, and the needy? Who is their advocate?
Be assured that through it all God is on the throne; God has a plan, a plan for our good. For just as a pebble causes calm water to move and come to life so trouble in our lives. See the need that we express to one another; notice our interaction one with another.
The stale prayers are more fervent, with more passion, and more desperation. Our pocket books are opening to give and not take, our silent sins are on the run as the glare of Christ’s righteousness rises in our hearts.
For us to move and look forward a bit we need motivation. We sheep like our little patch of green, we don’t mind so much the mud hanging dried on our wool, we see no need to change… but Christ our shepherd sees the coming storm and so leads us away.

To the edge of the mountain or to the valley deep and lush. He cleanses us in His rivers of water for he knows we need cleaning up. Mud and dirt in our lives is a breeding ground for all sorts of nasty bugs… therefore he cleans us and it is painful, it does not feel good, but to be healthy it is so needed.

When trouble comes don’t run from it, run to God. When plans fail, revisit the Great Architect, maybe His plans are greater than your own. In times of turmoil allow that turmoil to break you, humble you, and change your direction. Don’t harden your heart… fear God… seek humility… seek the Shepherd’s soothing voice… He is near!

Change & Love

Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure.” 1 Timothy 5:22

Abrupt change is never easy. It is hard. Sudden change shocks our system, our values, and our vision. Emotions easily stir, tempers flair, questions are asked, and lines are drawn… Yet, in the midst of change there is a better way…

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.“ (1 Corinthians 13:4-13).

We are not called to fight our battles… we are called to faith, to hope, and to love. These do not come naturally but supernaturally… through the leading of the soft voice, the broken heart, the blood stained hands of our Savior.

“…brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints…” (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Troubling times have come and will continue. “These things must come to pass”(Matthew 24:6), Jesus said, who also said that “because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12).

“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36)

‘Jesus, help us to stand and shine as lights. And while standing burn the very fleshy minds and carnality out of us. Make us worthy to carry your name to the ends of this earth and to you be the glory, the honor, and the praise.’

Submission

“Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously” 1 Peter 2:13-23

Submission is never easy. It is a word that is not spoken in our culture. Submission is practiced on the surface but not in the heart. For how do we submit to an unrighteous ruler or administration or to someone who we believe to be hateful, misguided, or simply wrong?

If our focus is only on earthly things… on the unrighteousness of others… or seemingly unrighteousness of others… then we miss the mark with God. For it is God who raises up rulers and those in authority, it is by his hand that they come into power and through them he dictates. They are instruments in the Masters hand to shape our present and the future. To bring to pass His grand design. Therefore, it is needful for us to… submit.

Submission is an act of our will. A will that too often is stubborn, selfish, and rebellious. It takes the heavy hand of abusive power to break our carnal will and to turn our focus higher… to God. By our very nature we will not change when all is well, when all is good, when all is going our way… we need pressure placed on us to be re-formed, to change.

Submission teaches us faith. Faith is the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). We need faith to see believe in God through the storms of life and “beside the still waters” (Psa. 23:2). Belief in God and trust in Him raises our focus to His will, his desire, and His purpose for our lives.

His purpose? To create in us the character of his Son, Jesus Christ. Did he threaten? No, he kept silent. Silence in the midst of great pain is a mark of maturity… maturity I’ve yet to reach. Have you? Can you patiently and silently wait for the waters to part? Can you silently walk through the fiery furnace? Can you endure quietly and wait for God or must you react?

I’ll admit that I cannot. I gripe and complain. I fume and fuss. I get irritated, anger, and sometimes just simply mad… because I perceive that I’ve been wronged or that someone stepped on my toes, or that I’ve been hurt… how petty and how un-Christ-like I am… Can you honestly conclude the same?

Yet, there is mercy, there is forgiveness for wrongs, for mistakes and for sin on my part and on yours. Submitting is a learning process, we learn nothing in one day… our patient Father leads us and changes us trial after trial, test after test… “Yet for Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter” Psalm 44:22.

Why? We love Him. We love Him more than we love ourselves. We love Him more than being right. We love Him enough to turn the other cheek… as Jesus once said… “I tell you not to resist evil. Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also” Matthew 5:39.

Helping the Weary

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” Galatians 6:9-10

Times are tough and I’m not speaking of the political, economic, or social upheavals that are underway. Times are tough as a Christian. Consider that the world around us is ever spiraling downward into a cesspool of the most foul and base cravings. Cravings that the world must one-up to get the same high, the same fix for their fixated carnality. We live in a world of me… me… but not all see it that way. There are people who dedicate their time, their energy, and their talent… to serve God through serving others… you and me.

There are a few dedicated people who clean, who usher, who fix things, who pay the bills, who work behind the scenes… for our benefit. No, they don’t complain. They often don’t say much at all. Their work though speaks volumes. Yet, after the newness has worn off and the familiarity has grown thin then their service can actually become… wearisome. Why? Well, typically it is the same people over and over and over again who… serve. They are the 10% who carry the other 90… No, again they don’t complain… some just slowly burn flat out.

So, if you ever want to serve the Lord and you don’t know how… just look around and look to one of these quiet and yet extremely dependable good folk and ask them, “what can I do to help”? Or go to your Pastor and ask him, believe me, he’ll probably know…

The point is… we may not all be speakers, teachers, singers, or creative but you know what… we can all clean, we all have abilities that God’s given… I wonder why? So that we all realize that we are in the same boat, fighting the same battles, and that some of us steer, some of us bail like crazy, some of us pray, and some of us row for home. Getting home is the goal but God wants us to look out for each other and work together along the way… what talents do you have that will help the boat… get home?

‘Father, tonight I pray for those who are often forgotten. Those who serve and don’t complain. Those who give. I pray your blessing on them. Bless them with help, with hearts and minds who will come up beside them, learn from them and help carry the burden of serving… the burden of ministry. The fields are white… may your people rise up and gather a harvest in these last days through showing love and care for one another and proclaiming to a darkened world… the Good News of Jesus Christ.’

Children of the Light

If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. Philippians 2:1-4 (Message)

We live in a world full of pushing and shoving. Who is king of the mountain can be the talk around the soda machine, the coffee station, and if desperate… the water fountain. There’s pecking orders and egos galore, but who is willing to serve? I mean, if we knew for certain that our Lord would return tomorrow at noon would the ambition for position and prestige be all that important?

I don’t think it would. I think getting right with God and with others would be the agenda for the day… and probably into the night! Like a looming inspection folks would scurry around to set things in order… clearing their record with the Lord with some sort of repentance… forgiving old hurts, giving instead of grandstanding and helping instead of taking…

The truth is no one knows the day of the Lord’s visitation. Yet, we can know the season, we are “children of the light” (1 Thess. 5:5). We can look around us and see the brutality of this silk-lined-sewer that we currently survive in but understand, we are “strangers and pilgrims” in the world and to its devices (1 Peter 2:11).

As a Christian we’ve been called to be… Christ-like. That’s turning the other cheek but not being a doormat. That’s facing conflict, not cowering…, demonstrating courage and admitting mistakes and admitting that your attitude was wrong. It’s picking ourselves up and changing… that is what repentance is all about… a change in attitude… a change in direction!

It’s being honest when it does not add to your promotion points and standing for the truth and falling on your shield when the poor, the needy, and the under-trodden are ruthlessly run over… when you, I, we walk this kind of walk then do we need to worry about the mess this world is turning into? Do we then need to fear the approaching appearance of Christ?

When we turn-off this world and turn-on to Christ and make Him our obsession, give Him all of our heart, mind, and strength then and only then do we see the elements of this world for what they are… falsehoods, deceptions, lies, and fakes… the truth is Christ, in Christ, and through Christ. We walk in Him and we become children of the light… children of truth. When we are children of the truth… we won’t need to seek people out to share the Gospel with… they will seek us out! May we then have the heart to give these prisoners… a helping hand!

Give Honor to Whom Honor is Due

“Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.” Romans 13:7

Near the door to my office is a small sign. It reads something like this, ‘Remember those who have served before by honoring them with your conduct today.’ That sign reminds me of their sacrifice and how I need a passion for history and honor to properly remind others of their sacrifice.

The men and women of our Armed Forces are honorable people. I see in them the same honor and tenacity that I read in the histories or watch on film. To remember them is honorable and just.

Tomorrow we remember our Veterans. Those who have labored and gave, sweated and cried, bleed and died for their nation and the cause of freedom.
One day of remembering is not enough to honor the sacrifice they’ve given. Living a life of honor and noble character is…

Thank you Veterans for serving!

Seek Those Thing Which Are Above

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1

In our day it is easy to get side-tracked. There are so many distractions. There’s the political advertisements, commercials, speeches, and debates that just recently left the airwaves. There’s a war on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere. There’s high gas prices, a teetering economy, bailouts and growing worry…

At home or abroad we have loved ones who are ill, injured, or in the hospital. Our bills are rising and our future job situation or opportunities unsure. Unrest, insecurity, and fear seem to be the flavor of our day… but there is hope.

Hope not found in a man, an organization, a government, or a church. A hope based in heaven and founded on our Lord Jesus Christ. The elements of this world are shaking. The political, economic, and social norms of the past are giving way to form a beastly rule that will lead to Christ’s second coming (Daniel 7, Revelation 13). Before the morning star appears the night must come… (Revelation 22:16).

“Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,” (2 Peter 3:11), this is our focus and not the “cares of this world” (Mark 4:19) which the Lord knows about and will take care of them for us if we simply ask (Matthew 6:32). Jesus follows this with, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

We cannot change what God has placed in motion but we can change our outlook, our attitude, and our hearts towards God and others. This is what is important in our day, not worrying about what we cannot change anyway.
‘Father, thank you that you’ve given us the knowledge and faith to know that you rule and reign in the affairs of mankind. You are in control and you have a purpose and a plan for the world and for each of us as individuals. Forgive me for taking my eyes off of you and on the troubled waters of this world. Help me and those reading to seek you and by doing so find true peace and comfort in these times of fear and difficulty.’

Hard Times & Correction

You'll get more from the rebuke of a sage than from the song and dance of fools. Ecclesiastes 7:5 (Message)

Correction is never easy. There is just something about my pride that just wants to either fight or flee in the face of a rebuke or in times of correction. Yet, correction is the very thing that I need! You know, most every day I ask the Lord, ‘please change my heart, please change me’… then from out of left-field someone corrects me. Or, some irritate pops up or seemingly everything that once ran smoothly now doesn’t work at all…in the heat of the moment… how very soon I forget my prayer… do you?

I believe the Lord hears our prayers. When our heart is right, when our sin is forgiven, and when we are seeking him then he hears and he desires to answer. I think most of the time… I truly don’t like the answer. For if I desire a change of heart… will it not take correction? If I’m walking the wrong way and I believe it is the right way won’t it take a rebuke or a trial to change my course?

The Apostle Peter put it this way, “that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ… 1 Peter 1:7

The best lessons in life are not free, they have a cost. Struggle, pain, and heartache are needed to change our nature. We simply will not change on our own… so God lovingly steps into our lives… brings some fire into our lives…all to change us. This is why bad things… happen to good people.
So, if you are going through some tough times… if things just aren’t going your way then consider that God loves you (Proverbs 3:12) enough to change you… to correct your course… and he is utilizing the instruments around you.

Instruments such as your family, your friends, your co-workers, that person who cut you off in traffic, the weather, or a newly broken washer machine… believe me, the possibilities are endless…

And during those trying times the real us comes to the surface… there’s something about going through the ‘fire’ that melts our mask and exposes the ugly sinner that we all truly are. Yes it is embarrassing, it hurts, and we feel venerable… and hopefully we are humbled enough to seek the God of heaven and begin to behold his righteous glory and recognize your ugly fallen nature! When that occurs…real change can begin…

Giving

When down-and-outers get a break, cheer! And when the arrogant rich are brought down to size, cheer! Prosperity is as short-lived as a wildflower, so don't ever count on it. You know that as soon as the sun rises, pouring down its scorching heat, the flower withers. Its petals wilt and, before you know it, that beautiful face is a barren stem. Well, that's a picture of the "prosperous life." At the very moment everyone is looking on in admiration, it fades away to nothing. James 1:9-11 (Message)

Sometimes I have to just stop what I’m doing and reflect. All the activity at work is important to me but it is important to remind myself that it’s a job. And a job has one main purpose, to bring some money home to pay the bills and put some food on the table.

The rat race of worrying about promotion, what others think, or even being an example can and will sap most of the energy out of our lives. If we are fortunate enough to enjoy our labor and the good people around us then we truly are blessed in deed. Millions in this world cannot even relate to these concepts…

And per chance we do prosper then what do we do with it? Many once-safe institutions can now fail our investments or our savings, we cannot count on them. We can count on the needs around us and those abroad.

Its written that it is better to give than to receive and I believe it to be true. There is more joy in giving than in receiving. It does the heart a lot of good to see the smile or share a tear with someone in need. No, its not broadcasted and that is the very best part!

‘Good Morning, Father! Thank you for the opportunity and gift of giving. What a joy! What a sheer honor for you to give through us and through it build relationships that we always pray point others hearts towards you while bringing and giving to you the glory!’

When in Doubt ask for Help

If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open. James 1:5-8 (Message)

At work, at home, at night, and in the morning I ask for help. I ask because I need it. This ole’ Texan needs all the help that heaven will give, and then some. Everyday I’m amazed and overjoyed at the good folks that come my way… to help me. Somewhere, I’m sure there are angels working overtime… and someday I plan on thanking them personally… J Do you think heaven has… take out?

Now, I’ve not always been this way… I’ve not always asked for help. In my youth I did not need help. I knew what to do, where to go, and how to get what I wanted… yep, I had it all figured out. In the midst of my self-centeredness and arrogance the grace of Christ touched my heart and I’ve not been the same since.

So I’ve grown accustomed to praying. At first mainly out of need but now out of a desire to acknowledge Christ in my heart, my thoughts, and in my life. So that Christ working in me might make a difference… impact the lives of others… if just for a moment…

Now, I’m certainly not perfect. I make mistakes each and everyday… some that others clearly see and others that are not so well known but still I pray on, I need the help so that I can help others.

Does Christ answer prayers… you should see my prayer journal… its full of green and yellow highlights that points clearly to his answer and more importantly… of his great love for us all!

The Gift of Prayer

“Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the day time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life “ Psalm 42.8

Of all the joys in life the simplest and yet most power is found in prayer. What a great gift prayer is. Prayer gives and does not ask for repayment in return, nor interest. Prayer is endless as it travels from heart to heaven and throughout our world and our existence.

Prayer for many is foreign. A foreign language that they don’t know how to start, how to continue, or exactly how to end. Prayer does not end. Prayer does not cease. Words and works may come to finality but prayer has a place before our God of Glory (Rev. 5:8).

Prayer is simply a communication with God. It is the acknowledgement of God and our need for him. Some pray standing up, some sitting down, some in the midst of their boss, and some as the look down at a sick child.

Prayer for me was difficult until I somehow learned to journal my prayers. I found a blank booklet and simply began writing letters to the Lord. In those pages I pour out my heart to Christ. I pray for the leadership of our county, the base leadership, and my co-workers, family and friends. I record not only a prayer of concern that comes to heart but God’s answer to prayer. I highlight those answers and in doing so my faith in Him has multiplied, grown, and established in my heart a deeper trust, a deeper longing, and a deeper acknowledgement of my need for Him. Pray builds faith.

Through prayer and a few notebooks of paper, the God of Heaven is changing my heart and my life. My anxieties are not so prevalent, my decisions are more steadfast, and there is more peace in my heart. My character is transforming, not over night, but little by little, prayer by prayer, and faith to faith. God changes us one day at a time…as we pray and as others pray for us…

‘Father, in these times of stress may our hearts return to you in prayer. Teach us to openly acknowledge our mistakes to you and receive from you mercy and grace in time of need. Teach us to pray and by it speak to our Heavenly Commander for guidance, direction, reassurance, and peace. Lord, I am weak. Help my weakness to demonstrate your mercy, your grace, and your character in and through this gift called prayer.’

An Answer to Daily Work Stress

“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Like an undisciplined ping-pong ball I often find myself engaged in one work project only to be ‘knocked’ to another without finished the others. Like you, I’ve found there’s no finality in work only a disconcerting continuance.

Projects go unfinished until its their time to readdress. Paperwork stacks up and priorities blur … reassessing, planning, and burning the candle on both ends becomes a way of life. Joy, peace, and contentment erodes amidst small and large fires that need attention, all this in the service to your country… and to bring a few dollars home after payday…

For the worker, the supervisor, the manager, the teacher, the boss… the burden of the dreaded ‘to-do’ list is often daunting. The energy and resourcefulness required to gain an inch and maintain a foothold is draining, stressful, and wearisome…

In the midst of such daily ciaos and frustration there is hope, we can gain control and peace. Not by doing more but by relying more… we have a friend we can talk to and who understands! Even in the midst of a fiery furnace or a den of lions Christ is only a breath away, a prayer away.
If we will only knock… he will answer (Matthew 7:7) and with him and through him we can manage the stresses, frustration, and distractions of daily life.

Change is Coming

Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!" declares the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: "You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds," declares the LORD. Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply.[Israel] "I will also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the LORD. "Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. Jeremiah 23:1-5

Our nation holds its discontented breath as the days tick closer to the voting booth and a new national leader. So, which leader to choose…? That’s a matter of debate, opinion, their record, and conscience. Yet, even more important than the election is this question… who truly gives power to a leader, to lead?

The Bible clearly states that God places people in key positions. It is God who decides who rules and who does not. Throughout His Word we see that he raises one leader and brings down another. For He has a plan and a purpose. A plan that utilizes either the positive or negative aspects of any leader. All to fulfill his plan, his desire.

For the truth is this… there is an Almighty God who rules in the hearts and minds of leaders. He turns their heart just as easy as we turn on or off a water faucet (Proverb 21:1). God turns our leaders hearts to fulfill his great plan, his great design. That desire, the ultimate glory and honor to the coming King, Jesus Christ.

For that to happen, change must occur. We live in a world that has rejected Christ, rejected his teachings, and hardened its heart to the movement of His Spirit. For this there is but one recourse. Judgment.

A judgment never before seen, a judgment unimaginable and unthinkable, a judgment of fire. A judgment that will wipe out 30% of those living (Revelation 9:15), a time of sorrow called the Tribulation (Revelation 7:14). A judgment to renew this earth and install a righteous leader, our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat… (2 Peter 3:11-12).

So, there is work to be done. A work… on the heart. My heart needs to change, my anxieties need a good swift kick… my priorities realigned, and my focus… on living an influential life for good. To every moment afforded me speak the ‘Good News’ of Christ, either in word or deed (1 John 3:18). To give and not keep, sow and not reap, bless and not curse, love and not hate. Change is indeed coming… I pray it occurs in my heart… and in yours!

‘Lord you are coming. With each day I grow more excited at your return and my ending this journey through a very barren and foreign land. Heaven is my home, your are my Father, and to reside in your glory, my dream. Change the corruptible character within me so that I might shine forth your glory and your character. Help our nation, not economically, politically, or militarily, but help us to repent and to turn our hard hearts to you.’