Letter From Home

A few years back, letter's use to be a typical communication to friends, loved ones, etc where geographic challenges made it difficult/impossible to stay in touch.  I'm not certain how many letters are sent now, I must assume that the electronic age has greatly reduced the volume to a minimum.  But that is alright.  Fact is we probably can stay in better communications via emails, text messages, all the social media.  While the mode may be different.....one thing is constant-we have an innate desire to hear from those we care about.  I can only imagine the brave soldiers that fight for our freedom feel a much needed sense of support/encouragement when they receive these 'letter's from home'.  As God's children, He authored, through His servants, a most powerful letter......from our Heavenly Home.  His love letter to us can guide, provide knowledge, comfort, transform, encourage, convict and much more......if we read/study and live this powerful letter/book (The Holy Bible).  I encourage all if you are not regularly reading--to consider this letter of love from the eternal home.  If you have never picked up a Bible--consider seeking Him.  While all trials will not magically disappear by living a godly life......we can be better equipped to persevere,  remain strong, and feel hope/comfort when life gets weary .....fighting the good fight--keeping the faith (2 Timothy 4:7) during the daily grind. Yes, life will be challenging at times, yet it is very short and so precious. In one of my favorite 70/80's bands songs, the chorus states......'live every moment, love every day, because before you know it your precious time slips away'  (REO Speedwagon-Live Every Moment).    Blessings in your pursuit.......TO

Limitations

How often do we stop short of things in life because we are paralyzed by our insecurities, doubts, and confidence in our God.  This is true in many facets of life, unfortunately, our faith and Christian walk can fall victim when we focus on our shortcomings and not allow God's strength to supersede.  We can easily excuse ourselves through any limitations we have placed on ourselves. Whatever our reservation may be (introverted, lack of knowledge/experience, too young/old, too busy, etc.),  God is sufficient in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).  Satan will fill this void with lies regarding these fears/excuses.  He makes us believe we are not good enough, we lack, we will fail....and God does not care.  Scriptures tell of the opposite-God loves us all, he cared enough to send Jesus in the flesh to suffer and die for our wickedness/transgressions.....He cares!  We must be on guard,  put on the full armor of God to be ready when attacks come to our faith.  When we listen to the 'voice of truth', focus on God's power and not our own actions, His light will shine through our shortcomings. I recently finished reading a powerful book, "Life Without Limits" by Nick Vujicic.  I encourage all to read.  He was born without any limbs, yet he has overcome these challenges and done amazing things by taping into God's power.  I have struggled with limitations.....as I have obtained 'more experience'-okay, gotten older, I am trying better to transform out of my self imposed restrictions/limitations to my faith and allow God to flourish in my daily life actions.  It's only through His power, love, grace and mercy.  Our greatest limitations are God's greatest opportunities--when I am weak, He is strong (2 Cor. 12:10).   God can use the ordinary for extraordinary results (e.g. Moses, feeding the multitudes, Elisha and the widow's oil, etc.).  Let's feel more confident in saying "yes" to where we are in life, who we are,  and what we have to offer through God's power.  No more excuses, doubts or fears.  Live by faith in God's promises, trusting and embracing His peace, love, joy......and strength (Isaiah 40:29).  Blessings in your pursuit.......TO

Worship

When we think of worship, typically we tend to focus on corporate worship at church.  What about the remainder of our service to God.  Biblical principles teach us to live our lives in service to others and worship and praise to our God.......not just at church time.  Romans 12:1 reminds us of this:  Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. We are to use this earthly shell/body as a 'living sacrifice' to our God.  We are to live holy (not perfect) and acceptable too--all this encompasses our worship----a spiritual worship/relationship with our Creator. 
While I'm quite certain there will be varying opinions and interpretations on what exactly this means to our individual daily lives, the principles should be harmoniously clear.
All that we say and do--All of the time:                                                                                    "Living"--a continuous, growing, maturing, life long process
"Sacrifice"-- a selfless/serving others/ Christ focused
"Holy"-- Christ like actions/attitude
A daily journey, a life-long maturing faith.......a perpetual pursuit of that true and proper worship.  Blessings in your pursuit......TO                                          

 

Blessed or Stressed

If not circumspect, we can easily get caught up in the busyness/rush/stress of life.......in particular the time of year-the holiday season.  During the holidays our goal should be to dwell more on the gratitude of Jesus birth and not of focusing on the details, the perfect gift, party, foods, decorations.....and so on--Does this sound a little familiar?  Martha comes to mind  (Luke 10:38-42), she was so consumed with the tasks at hand (not necessarily a bad thing), however, she lost sight of One more important.....the visiting Jesus.  What matters most is the need and opportunity to seek Jesus and spend time with Him-a lesson Martha learned.  I challenge all of us to contemplate regularly the following:  What are we seeking;  What is important;  What do we spend our time and energy on.  May we always be thankful and train our hearts (as well as our children, and others we come into contact with during our precious lives) towards our Savior-instead on inconsequential/temporary matters (Colossians 3:2). We are so blessed to be a child of the Almighty God....let's not miss out through the busyness/stress.
Blessings in your pursuit.......TO

Light It Up!

I often wonder am I truly being the light of Jesus that God expects me to be.  Is my life (through Jesus) so non conforming to this world, that others will see the glory of Zion and be drawn to Him.  Isaiah 60:1-3 says, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.   Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.  Jesus is the light of this world, a constant, our Redeemer and Saviour.  May we always allow Jesus to shine in our lives so boldly that others will seek this joy and salvation.  As we ask, seek and knock......may God fill us with His presence.  May my goal in life be to-- Light It (the world) Up for the sake of Christ.  Daniel 12:3,   Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

Attention (Gift of Listening)

     We live in a world of "busyness" and something else I refer to as "technological deafness".  There are many daily items/activities that compete for our attention......some good, others not.  Multi-tasking has come to the forefront in order for us to feel we are maximizing our energy, time and efforts.  While this is sometime somewhat unavoidable/necessary in accomplishing tasks at hand, it can be very detrimental to our communication process.  This leaves gaps, chances for misunderstandings and selective hearing tends to rule.  Time, people, relationships are vital to us........the goal should be to place our efforts where most important.  This should include: our faith/time with God, our family (spouse, children, extended family), other relationships/serving, work/providing.  A tall order for our daily lives where time seems to quickly vanish.  In the scheme of life on this earth, we are but a vapor and  time is short.  May we make it a habit to stop and give out UNDIVIDED attention in our relationships.  To me, this is a most precious gift to give someone.....indicating they are important and we care for them by setting aside other priorities and for the time it takes to fully/completely LISTEN.  I need God's help, mercy and blessings in this matter--I'm certain all can relate.
     We all long to be wanted/heard/loved by those dearest and special to us.  We always EXPECT others to LISTEN TO US- this includes our God (Psalm 54:2). We offer prayers, expecting answers we want (Psalm 17:6).  If we have these desired outcome from others, why do we struggle with the busyness/technology gadgets when we are here to serve and not be served.  May we always avoid being PHYSICALLY PRESENT, yet MENTALLY ABSENT......by extending the GIFT OF ATTENTIVE LISTENING ( Luke 2:46).  Blessings in your pursuit.......TO

FMEOJ

WHAT?    I am usually curious of acronyms.  I work in a government setting, so I have ample opportunities to discover new acronyms--there seems to be one for just about anything.  Often times they spell out an actual word, other times they look like this title.  When I see unfamiliar acronyms, I find myself tantalized to figure it out, trying my best to match possible words pertaining to the material at hand that could encompass this shortcut meaning.
So, FMEOJ-are you like me and have attempted to solve?  Well, here it is....Fixing My Eyes On Jesus!  This should be our daily goal, our modus operandi (MO), seeking God to fend off Satan's temptations.  In Matthew 14:29-30, Peter takes his eyes/focus off Jesus on the water and begins to sink.  That is what happens in our lives as we fixate on other means in an effort to satisfy us.  God's loving grace is sufficient-even during those difficult trials we face.....do we live like we believe this?  I often fail especially when I do not FMEOJ and try to resolve issues my way.  We need reminded often.  May we truly seek Him first, look to the Lord, thanking and praising Him in the good times and the bad.  Proverbs 4:25-27 suggests similar advise.......Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.  Blessings in your pursuit.......TO