Simple Praise

Some days I sit down to write, and I can fill pages of inspiration and ideas and thoughts about the greatness of God in my life.  Other days, I only have tears and no words. And yet on other days, my spirit enters into prayer and I enjoy the peace and stillness of being in his presence.

My God is a loving God that provides me with exactly what I need.  He has been constant and unchanged since the beginning of time. In his perfection and omnipotence, he finds room for me, and you, to live in his glory and be blessed.

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever."  Psalm 118:1

There is no one else like him.  He is my Lord, my Savior, and I love him.

Letting Go

As children bring their broken toys with tear for us to mend,
I brought my broken dreams to God because he was my friend.
But then, instead of leaving Him in peace to work alone,
I hung around and tried to help, with ways that were my own.
At last, I snatched them back and cried, "How can you be so slow?"
"My child," He said, "What could I do? You never did let go."
                                                         Anonymous

How often is it that we cry out to the Lord for help and continue to struggle to find a way on our own?  It seems so many times I live my life with clenched fists, holding onto my troubles, sorrows, regrets, fears and failures when all the while I should have open hands.  Open to let God take from me and give to me as He sees fit, for my best interest.  Maybe not for today or even in this lifetime, but he certainly knows what is best for me  from the eternal perspective.  And, sometimes, sometimes what's best might have to be uncomfortable.  Uncomfortable drives change, and change is the basis for growth, and growing spiritually, personally, physically, emotionally, financially and socially is what life is all about.

I pray today that I and my friends and family might loosen their grip on those things that we are holding onto and have faith, confidence and trust in the Lord to make a way that is perfect, like only He can do.  Letting go is a crucial step in building our relationship with Him, which is truly all He wants.

2 Boys

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent."  Revelation 3:19

I love my children.  As a father of two boys, very close in age, it can be difficult and challenging when they battle for the alpha position in the house.  It seems every couple of weeks a huge battle ensues, words are yelled, arms and backs are punched and there maybe even is a little wrestling. One thing is for sure, there is always yelling!  Very seldom, anymore, are there tears like there was when they were much younger.

This battling is challenging for me as the father because I understand it, I know why they are doing it and I get that it is part of human development.  All that being said, I still don't like it.  Therefore, I generally intervene after a few minutes.  I've learned that if I step in too soon, it will just continue when I leave, escalating again until I have to come back. If I step in too late, someone is hurt.  Never anything more than a bruise or a sore groin, yet the winner definitely feels triumphant. 

When I do step in, the boys know they are in trouble!  When Dad is mad, someone's getting in trouble!  Ha Ha Ha!  Yes, they will get disciplined, with a chore, or quiet time in their room or worse, they might have to sit next to me for a while and not do anything!  Then, it's hug time.  After the flames have settled, a few giggles can be heard from solitary confinement, it's time for apologies.  I don't know how many times I've had to say, "do it again, this time like you mean it"! - all the while chuckling under my breathe.  And it rarely fails, after the apology, life is good. 

I love my children more than anything and would protect them with my life.  Yet, I love them enough to know that discipline is necessary to develop good character, integrity, work ethic and an understanding of responsibility.  I discipline out of love, not anger, and there is a difference.  Our God, bless his holy name, is the same with us.  Developing our spirit, our character and integrity is why we get rebuked and disciplined.  Because he loves us so much.

The God I know and love, loves me more than I could possibly reciprocate.  Words cannot create a a story or paint a picture bold enough to express the depth of his love for me, and you.  Accepting the discipline and asking for forgiveness with intent and meaning builds a foundation of trust in God.  When you know that you have that kind of love in your life, and the trust level is deep enough, the relationship goes to a new level and you find a new peace. 

I pray that I may be able to continue to accept his discipline and repent with a thankful, open heart.  For I know that he loves me.  And for that alone, I am thankful.

Glad

It's a good thing that the Lord doesn't ever get too busy for us.  I am sure He has a busy schedule, with all His kids, the problems of a billion or so people and a ridiculously persistent enemy, ya' know?  How does He do it?  Oh, that's right, He's God!  Which means he is SUPPOSED to be able to do it all, be everywhere, handle everything all while being in control. 

Forgive me, Lord, for not being able to duplicate all that you do and thank you for letting it be that way.

How many crises is it going to take for me to learn and understand that I need to seek Him first, not last, for the solutions in my life?  I just endured a terrible amount of stress, filled with worry and fear, due to a software failure at my office.  My life is supposed to be dependant on the Lord, not a program, but it felt that way the last 3 weeks. 

I have been somewhat embarrassed that I let the stress get to me in such a way.  I have made it through so much with God, I cannot understand why I didn't seek Him for this as well?  I trust Him with my life and I know that the eventual result was all His doing and the simplicity and over reaching benefit of the solution is still mind blowing to me.  Because that is God's way. 

So I sought counsel in Proverbs today when this verse slapped me alongside the head:  Listen to you father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.  Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding.  The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him. May your father and mother be glad; may she who gave you birth rejoice! Proverbs 23: 23-25

I know that many times in life I have let my mother and father down, have fallen short of their expectations and at times, caused them undue strife.  As a father now, I understand the unconditional love a parent has and the sacrifice they are willing to make to help their children grow, learn and succeed in life.  I look back over my life and see how I took that for granted, how God allowed my life to play out based on my choices and how many blessings I have had because of my mother and father. 

Mom, who is still here with me, and Dad, who's been enjoying Heaven for four years now, I'm thankful for all the sacrifice you made for me, the discipline you handed down to me and the understanding that has grown in me because of you in my life.  It is my true hope that you are glad...

Building Trust

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.  Psalm 125:1

Trust is a hard thing to develop and grow.  In many cases, it requires months, if not years of time and experience looking at and observing someone's track record, their character and qualities.  In many situations in life we are required to "just trust" someone without knowing their history.  In these situations, it's difficult at times to be open enough to allow yourself to trust. 

Trusting in the Lord helps in many ways, including giving your trust to others. Who else has a 2,000 yr track record?  Building trust in the Lord isn't necessarily easy, as it does require faith as I have written about before.  But trusting in the Lord provides a foundation for you to trust others as you have a comparative subject in the Lord.

The Holy Spirit speaks to you and guides when you trust in the Lord.  Offering your trust to others, through the Holy Spirit, provides protection for you against the enemy and his clan.  Listening to that "wee small voice" is a skill that requires use and practice to develop, but will save you from much heart ache in your life.

The Holy Spirit, in your life, is a difference maker, a peace-bringer, a relationship-builder, a life-protector and soul-developer.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart so that your heart might trust those who are trustworthy.

Gravity

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.   Hebrews 11:1

So many aspects of living and being spiritually inclined require faith that without faith, it is impossible to achieve.  As an intellectual, understanding Jesus, his sacrifice, the meaning of his life and death in my life and the existence of an eternal Heaven were difficult to comprehend. I come from a background of "here is why this works, look at the research and the evidence."

Living a spiritually inclined life requires a "knowing" deep in your heart and in your mind that the Scriptures, and things written about Jesus, are true.  To simply know something means that you can regurgitate the fact or data correctly.  On a deeper level of understanding, to "know that you know" something means that not only can you correctly reproduce the right fact or data in question, but you understand and comprehend how it came it about.  And the deepest level of knowing is to "know that you know that you know."  At this level there is no conscious thought or input into the fact or data, there is no need for understanding or comprehension because the fact or data is so engrained in your heart and mind that it is no longer something that you know, it has become a part of who you are.  It not longer requires intentional thought to contemplate the idea in consideration.  It just is. 

To me, this is faith.  And faith grows through experience and understanding.  A great example of living in the "know that you know that you know" level of consciousness is the study of gravity.  As a toddler when you were sitting in your high chair, you first "learned" about gravity, or were made aware of it, by dropping your spoon on the floor over and over and having Mom or Dad it pick it up.  Right?  Who didn't do this?  From there it progressed to if I stand at the top of the steps and lay on my tummy, I can ride all the way down to the bottom.  Then, through more experience of throwing baseballs, jumping out of trees and spitting lougies off the 5th floor balcony of your hotel room, gravity became more understood.  And finally, at some point you learned that gravity actually was a force, 9.8 m/s2 and could be used to understand how other things in the universe worked.  And, now, well, you don't even contemplate gravity because it is just there, a part of everyday life.

This, too, is how our faith is built.  At first, we must just accept things for what they are.  Jesus shed his blood for me so that I may be forgiven of my sins and have eternal life, having to never experience death.  I remember hearing a story of Billy Graham being asked in an interview what changed his ministry from filling tents with people to filling giant stadiums?  His response was miraculous.  "My ministry took on new meaning the moment I began to believe the Scriputres in full faith."

As we experience more of the blessings and principles taught in the Scriptures, our faith grows until, hopefully, one day, we "know that we know that we know" Jesus died for me.  Rev. Graham learned this and it changed his life forever.  So to will it change yours and mine.

A Time To Rest

Believe it or not, there is more to life than finishing your "to do" list or work.  I can remember, way back, I mean wa-a-ay back to when I was a kid and the grocery stores closed at 9, the downtown closed at 5:30 and nobody, I mean, nobody was open on Sunday.  The trend of 24 hour service and open everyday has permeated every nook and cranny of our society. It seems that we, lumping us all together (unfairly, of course), have assumed the motto, "Live to Work."

This, however, is not spiritually inclined living.  At the center of a life focused on serving God and his people, there is rest.  God was, and is, smart enough to know that we need to rest.  He designed us, created us and built us in his image so he knows how we are to best live to get maximum benefit from life.  And with that, he has said we must take time to rest.

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rest from his own work, just as God did from his.  Hebrews 4:9-10

Rest has many valuable qualities: it renews the mind and spirit, it rebuilds the physical being, it reconnects individuals with God and many more!  God gives us a the example and then asks that we not fall short.  He worked 6 days, and on the 7th, he rested.  Why? 

What is the benefit of work without having the time to enjoy the fruits of your labor?  Did God not rest on the 7th day so that he might enjoy what he had created? 

Those who are believers and followers of Scripture know this principle, yet it is an easy one to overlook and let the enemy trick us into believing it's okay to not rest.  It's not!  The next verse in Hebrews tells why:  Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.  Hebrews 4:11

Do not be fooled for the Lord, God Almighty, is forever with you and nothing is hidden from him.  Something as simple as taking more time to rest and reflect can, and will, build stronger faith and a better relationship with Jesus.