The Wait

Picture a common waiting room: cushioned chairs, an assortment of magazines, soothing music easing the mood, perhaps an aquarium of fish. Why provide such a calming environment? Because, by and large, we do not like to wait. Truth is, we don't much like to wait anywhere for any length of time. Often more than any other kind of waiting, we cringe at the mere idea of waiting on God. Usually, His time is not discerned by the human mind. We don't want to learn patience by experiencing waiting. Why do we struggle with this if in fact we believe scripture and have the faith that God provides and His plans for us are good? We should be experts at waiting as statistics show we spend a lot of our precious time engaged with the inevitable----the ‘wait’s ‘of life. We wait at: traffic lights or traffic in general; restaurants; in lines for various things, test results, and other life events. Psalms 37:7 instructs us to be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him and do not fret. Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. " WAIT!!!-it’s all about heart/attitude, faith and trust. God is the creator/master of all things. He is patient as He WAITS on us to follow Him. Why can’t I trust and wait for my glorious, compassionate God. Blessings in your pursuit…….TO

Fear(Respect/Reverence)=Obedience

To have no fear(respect/reverence) for God, will probably lead us to live a life that lacks respect and obedience. Read Romans 3:11-18. Verse 18 culminates the reason for living in sin-No fear! I believe a parallel lies within our school system and perhaps many homes. Students and our children simply do not fear/respect authority(teachers, administrators, principals, parents) because the repercussions do not exist or are minimized. School administrators hands are tied through legalities and the kids learn this quickly. What results is disobedient behavior and at times destructive violent acts-a less nurturing/learning environment. We as God’s creation are oftentimes no different in our spiritual walk. When authority is disregarded, attitudes and actions are often ungodly. Our awesome God is all knowing, loving and powerful-deserving of our respect/reverence and obedience. Fearing God does not mean to be horrified, but simply having a wholesome and pure reverence to our all powerful Creator. Blessings in your pursuit…….TO

Caution: Answers from God often require action on the requestor’s part!

I saw a quote today from an unknown source…….”Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering and injustice when He could do something about it.” “Well, why don’t you ask Him?” “Because I’m afraid He would ask me the same question.” –Anonymous. Wow! Yes, it’s true God is all powerful and is in control. Beyond comprehension! I do not profess to know the WHY’s (we all have them in our lives). But I do know one thing. If I expect or desire a perfect earthly life, I will be miserable, disappointed and self-focused/reliant. God made it clear we would have problems here. He loves us, cares and is with us- John 16:33 says, I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. Look at James 1:2-4, Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete. Troubles cause me to humble myself to God, to depend on Him solely. This results in spiritual growth, another step towards maturity and completeness(not perfect as in sinless). An imperfect/temporal earth should draw my heart towards a perfect /eternal home with my Creator. Back to the quote/question….while we cannot supernaturally stop evil/suffering like God could, we can stand united as humanity(especially we that wear the Christian name) and make a difference. Can I sit back and expect only God to be at work? Today, we are to be His hands and feet-vessels and instruments. Faith and obedience will draw us to action. When it comes to suffering and the poor, God has given us the resources to help. Do I have the will to serve/take action? It is what we are called to do. Let us go be the salt and light unto the world in obedience to our God (see Matt 5:13-16). Blessings in your pursuit…….TO

Success

How do we/society view success or even failure? Is it simply a certain prominent career/job? There is nothing wrong with earthly achievements as long as we are obedient to our Almighty God. Oftentimes, we can easily get caught in evaluating success with a title, salary, possessions, etc. If that is the main/only metrics used, the potential difference between God’s view of success and a worldly paradigm, can be quite chasmic. God looks from the inside first and foremost. If our hearts are not Christ focused then what we gain here on earth is futile (Mark 8:36-For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? See also, Matt 16:26). We are to work hard and provide for our family and help those less fortunate. God is more interested in our heart, and less with our title and salary. In I Peter 3:3-4 we read, Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. Also, look at what 1 Samuel 16:7 says, But the LORD said to Samuel, Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. I need to ask myself a few questions regularly: How do I define success in this precious life that God has given me? What is my purpose? What does God expect from an obedient child? Blessings in your pursuit…….TO

Moral Courage

Injustices……..life is full of them. It will rob of life’s joy if we focus on these and how they affect us unjustly. Only a heaven/Godly focus can provide us with the spiritual armor to effectively combat the ‘wrongs’ of life, allowing us to trust in God’s divine plan for each of us and experiencing the peace that passes all understanding. 1 Samuel 17:37a, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." God is the great deliverer and in His time He will right all wrongs as He is faithful to his promises, righteous and just. Do I believe and live it??? A challenge for each of us, yet achievable!!! Blessings in your pursuit…….TO

Faith Barometer

Faith-believing in an unknown/uncertainty/something unseen. In today’s visual society, a strong faith in anything can be challenging. To see or experience something makes belief/faith much easier. Jesus tells us in John 20:27-29 while proving to a doubter ( Thomas), blessed are those that have not seen and yet believe(vs 29). What a powerful example to gauge our faith upon. Do I truly believe without seeing? If I open my eyes and heart-while I cannot physically see God- I can see God’s creation and his Spirit at work. Where is the mark on your/my faith barometer? Blessings in your pursuit…….TO

Christmas

My family has always enjoyed the Christmas season, baking goodies, family time, presents, etc. My father would, as we became older, had us read scripture and pray before diving into the presents. Having a daughter has allowed me the opportunity to continue with the heart of a child at Christmas. While I have played up the "fun" of what can be had at this time of year, I've tried to instill within my daughter the heart of Jesus Christ. Not just during this time of year should she only see or hear about our Blessed Redeemer and Savior. Yes, we have all heard it and probably said it,'Jesus Christ is the reason for the season'. While this is very true, my paradigm has changed to Jesus Christ is the reason period! For all occasions/life, this should be my thought process. It is a lifestyle we should aspire to live daily-the example of Jesus Christ. Our lives really should not change during a particular day, week or month-ever how one would define the Christmas Season. I believe Christians can enjoy Christmas and should celebrate our Lord's birth, life, death and resurrection. The challenge, at least for me, is to keep the commercialization into perspective and live obediently and enjoy the reason daily.
C-Christ, the reason, period!
H-Holy
R-Risen Lord
I-Immanuel, God with us
S-Savior
T-The King of Kings
M-Messiah
A-Almighty God
S-Sacrificial Lamb.....................Merry Christmas, Blessings in your pursuit.......TO