Believe

I do not know what the writer had in mind for this song or the implication.  The lyrics do promote an uncanny resemblance  to God's promises.  One comment said the following-It's about God making himself known to a person who has nothing left to live for.  The following is what I  perceive as a derived analogy of the song's chorus. It's what our God is all about and this chorus, as I interpret, provides a reminder regarding the Sovereign God we should strive to serve.  The song is called 'Believe' by one of my favorite bands......Trans Siberian Orchestra (TSO).

CHORUS                                                          ANALOGY

I am the way                                               He is the Way
I am the light                                              He is the Light
I am the dark inside the night                    He is our refuge/protector

I hear your hopes                                       He hears our prayers
I feel your dreams                                      He knows our thoughts
And in the dark I hear your screams          Our earnest pleas/petitions

Don't turn away                                          Be steadfast, keep my eye on Jesus
Just take my hand                                       Humbly seek God, embrace His love
And when you make your final stand         What will my decision be-to follow or disobey

I'll be right there                                         God never leaves us-we have free will/choice
I'll never leave                                            God is faithful to His promises
And all I ask of you is                                  Salvation is readily available to all
Believe                                                          

 

Do you BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died for our sins, rose in 3 days, reigns in Heaven with our God?

I challenge each one to embrace the Word of God and grow in your belief- resting in His hope, promises, love and mercy.  Blessings in your pursuit.......TO

                                                                      

HOPE from the "pits of life"

The example of Joseph's life (Gen 37-50) has many facets/plots/twists.....favoritism from his father resulting in sibling jealousy/rejection, thrown into a pit and sold as a slave.  Joseph must have felt alone, abandoned, betrayed, doubt and fearful.  Yet, my guess is that through his dreams he chose to trust God's timing by persevering through these difficulties for a better plan/outcome.  Easy?  I'm certain we all agree.....NO WAY!

Joseph's trust and faithfulness led to him to become second in command in Egypt.  When the drought came (just as he had dreamed about), he could have taken revenge on his brothers.  Instead, he denied self and the tendency hold a grudge.....he chose to forgive and reunite his family.  God used Joseph trials for a greater purpose/good as he was instrumental in making provisions available to many during the drought.  Gen 50:20 says, You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.  It is certainly easier to view the story knowing the end result.  We struggle "in the now" as we do not know our future.  While I'm certain Joseph struggled at times, God knew he would persevere and trust to the end.  What a great example of HOPE from the "pits of life".  Of course, that does not mean that everything will work out the way we want.....there will be disappointments, hurt, suffering.....during our time in this world.

In order to get out of "the pits", we must trust while releasing our fear and pain to our awesome God.  We must learn to look at trials not as God not caring or that He does not love us, but as an instrument used towards His ultimate plan for our life......in His timing.  This trusting attitude will reap high rewards (as God has promised)........if we take the step of faith by submitting/releasing to our God.  Blessings in your pursuit.......TO

My Deficiency.......God's Sufficiency

In Exodus 4:10-12, Moses uses what he deems a deficiency as a reason that  perhaps God should choose another to carry out the mission Moses was called to perform.  My guess is, we have all did the very same during our lives- I am guilty.  Whether it be a leadership roll, actively sharing Jesus with others, Bible class teacher, public prayer, etc., I have allowed my quiet (somewhat introvert) personality to hinder my growth/obedience.  As in the great examples of Moses, David, Zacchaeus Saul/Paul........and many others, being adept and possessing the ideal qualities are not a pre-recquisite for serving God.  I like the apropos phrase that states, God uses ordinary individuals to achieve extraordinary results.  We must learn and mature to the point of taking the focus off our limitations (deficiencies) and trusting/relying on God's all sufficient power. 
Where I struggle/lack, God succeeds!
Where I am weak, God is strong! 
Being a faithful follower of our Creator requires us to trust Him and at times leave our comfort zones.  We must place our fears, doubts, insecurities, deficiencies into God's hands.  We must always be cognitive of how our actions and attitudes will shape our children, spouses, other family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc.  Am I/Are you the courageous/godly being that God has called each of us to be?  Let's challenge one another to loosen the grip on our insecurities/deficiencies and embrace God's power (Philippians 4:13).   Blessings in your pursuit.......TO

Ready?

Matthew 24:36-44 is challenging....a powerful reminder/awakening.  We often go through each day making plans for our precious life-another day/more time ahead.  Scripture tells us that we are not guaranteed another hour/day-personally.  We also do not know the hour that our Savior will return to take all His children home.
Perhaps some believe this to sound morbid and gloomy.  As Christians,we are to look forward to this reward with anticipation and joy--that is challenging to me.  We get wrapped up in our earthly life with family, friends, church, hobbies, serving. etc.  While these activities are not inherently bad, we can allow them to distract our eternal focus.  Scripture also tells us to be prudent and ready for our unknown appointed time.  Why do we spend so much time and effort planning for our earthly life (vacations, retirement, the tomorrow's of life, careers, etc) and yet we often neglect/overlook preparing for the eternal life?   To the faithful children of God, this is to be a glorious day.........to what extent do I/we truly believe this and live with an attitude that encompasses that confidence!  Are you living your life in a state of readiness?  Blessings in your pursuit.......TO

Materialistic?

Who me?     Are you?
We all have many blessings.  It does seem as though we often measure them in a materialistic/worldly manner.  Sometimes we seek a new car, bigger home, a second/vacation home, all the new technological gadgets, etc.  Not that there are anything in particular wrong with having things..........but it's the attitude that motivates these possessions.  Is our attitude to consume these for "self", or perhaps use them to share with others/build relationships and introduce God's love and Jesus? 
I came across a couple passages recently that challenge my attitude on this subject.  They remind  that things of this earth are temporary and our permanent possession (everlasting life with our God) needs to be the focus.  Read II Peter 3:3-13 and Matthew 6: 20-21.  I ask myself, "what am I storing up and what is the reasoning"  and "where is my heart focused"? 
We all like to keep hold of certain memorabilia to recall memories of the past......again, nothing wrong with that emotional activity.  But if not careful, we can become hoarders and allow material/earthly treasures to consume us.  The challenge is to keep all facets of this life in a godly perspective-to look upward and not an earthly focus.  A selfless, humble and serving attitude is the crux of our walk/journey.  I recently disposed of some memorabilia from my college days- a couple medium size boxes.  I had not looked at it much (if at all) in many years.  It was a little difficult as I sorted through and reminisced........but what was important then, is not so much anymore.  I have not since thought much about all I threw out.  We came into this world with no possessions and we will depart in the same manner........we cannot take it with us.  It's hard to imagine, but I must believe, that things that are important in this life, will lose that attachment in the life to come.  Blessings in your pursuit.......TO

Are you a pumpkin?

I came across this beautiful analogy of how God can/will work in us-if we allow..... wanted to share:

A woman was asked by a coworker, 'What is it like to be a Christian?' The coworker replied, 'It is like being a pumpkin.' God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.'   Blessings in your pursuit.......TO

WAIT!

There is a song by Van Halen I like, basically because of the music as I do not subscribe very well to the premise of the title.....'I'll Wait'.  We live in an instant gratification society and have been de-programmed to some of humanities basic emotions.  Waiting/patience is not an acceptable quality in many of life's activities, nor is it a commonality.  However, why as Bible believing Christians do we struggle so much with this discipline? We are told in scripture that waiting/endurance develops perseverance and maturity (see James 1:2-5 and 1:12).
Scripture is filled with examples to 'wait on the Lord'-being patient and trusting in God our creator.  The following is a list of some passages, I encourage you to reflect on:  Psalm 27:14, 33:20, 37:7, 40:1; Prov. 20:22; Lam. 3:26; Heb. 10:23; Philippians 4:6-7; 2 Cor. 6:4; James 5:7; and Jude 1;21.
My guess is that in this world we will struggle with this to varying degrees during our lifetime.  The challenge is to seek God first, focus on the Spirit, trusting in Him and wait for His promises and plans to be fulfilled.  Blessings in your pursuit.......TO