What's Your Excuse?

Confidence….Another side of abiding.

This is a word that seems to either increase your ability to abide or completely destroy it! It seems as though there are a lot of “church Christians” – people who say they are Christians and will do anything for anyone as long as they are inside the church doors.

When you are given a free invite to enter into God’s presence, it is not until you reach the doorway that you stop and let your lack of confidence take over. You begin to think of all the reasons that you are not good enough or all the past events you wish you could take back. This lack of confidence purely shows your lack of knowledge of God’s forgiveness.

Now really…letting your confidence stop you at door is only slowing you down. It’s time to build the confidence, accept God’s invite, walk through the door, and receive the blessings He has in store for you! Abiding in Him is all about taking one step after another, after another, after another and growing closer to Him; don’t let the lack of confidence stop you at the door!

1 John 2:28 – “Abide in him. Live deeply in Christ. Then we’ll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, confident, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuse when he arrives.”

It’s time to evaluate yourself. So, what’s your excuse? Why can’t you seem to pass through the doorway? Are you abiding in Him constantly, and pursing the life He wants to see you live? Take the next step in your walk with Christ and see the joys and blessings that wait for you on the other side!

Abide

Abide. It has to do with “being” instead of “doing”.

“Doing” is like reading your Bible, going to church, praying, serving, etc. These are crucial points to increase your walk with God, without them your walk will suffer. But if we are doing these just because we are suppose to or are doing them with our OWN strength we will be missing out on the intimate relationship we need with God.

To abide, we must be in the “being” mode. We are still doing the things God has called us to, but we are doing it in HIS strength this time. The more we are abiding in Him, the more we will be faithful to what he calls us to do. “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gifts to make you strong – that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.” Romans 1:11-12. With this, we won’t become works oriented, we will become Christ oriented and have more peace/understanding in our life.

To abide is to experience His presence. To bear patiently; waiting for God to reveal His will and Himself to us. When you begin to reflect on the word “abide” and how through your own time with God, waiting on Him, the faith that you have in your own life seems to expand and spread among those around you, without you even realizing it. That “constant, remaining, still standing” …ABIDING….moments with God can actually build up your faith, move, and encourage those around you!

Keep On Keeping On

As a college student there are always changes that occur. It could range from a chance in classes, work environment, friends, and relationships. Schedules are always jammed pack with the things that have to get done each day and in result can make life very stressful while trying to find a happy medium. College has been known as the time to figure out who you are and what you plan to do with your life after college. Trying to plan a weekend is hard enough, not to mention now I'm planning the rest of my life! Talk about overwhelming!

James 1:2-4 "When troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, you endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."

Stress is an ultimate factor of defeat, motivation loss, and disappointment. When I have been asked by incoming freshmen what got me through the first year of college, my response has always been finding the right group of people, time managing, and prioritizing. Relying on the Lord and putting my complete faith in Him has got me to where I am today. He has blessed me with a great church, group of friends, a job, and he helps me manage my everyday tasks and turns them into opportunities to serve others! There is nothing more I could have asked of Him to make this college transition experience any better than it has been!

I feel like the endurance that is growing through my faith being tested is always expanding beyond what I could imagine! Which, to me, is a great feeling! This endurance is never fully developed, because we will never be "perfect and complete, needing nothing" but knowing that God is willing to give us exactly what is needed, when it's needed is such a blessing!

"For apart from me you can do nothing...But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!" John 15:5-7 I challenge you, and myself as well, to abide in Him and His word constantly! Through Him you will be able to accomplish so many things, but apart from him you can do nothing. Keep on keeping on and finish this race of life strong through the power, strength, and motivation God is giving you to glorify Him and His kingdom!

Are You Taking God Seriously?

Faith, it’s something that Jesus’ disciples seemed to be lacking in Matthew 17.

As the story goes, a man stepped out from the crowed came to his knees begging Jesus to have mercy over his son who was filled with a demon. He said he had brought his son to Jesus’ disciples but they were unable to do anything about it. So Jesus asked to see the boy and he drove out the demon. Later the disciples asked Jesus why they couldn’t drive the demon out. Jesus’ response was “Because you have so little faith…if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Jesus comment “Because you have so little faith” is so true in so many of our lives. Another version says “Because you’re not yet taking God seriously”. How many times to you approach a problem or a situation and think, “I bet I could do this on my own” or maybe “I know myself the best so I will make this decision for myself”. God knows you so much better than you even know yourself! He knew you before you were born and he knows everything you are going to do throughout the rest of your life.

To think about how small an actual mustard seed is and how much power you would have if you only had that much faith in God is unbelievable! That just goes to show that there is so much to learn from Jesus. We will never fully understand or comprehend all he has done. But we all know the gift of everlasting life he has laid down for us, and that is enough to make us have all the faith in the world! Nothing is impossible for you as long as God is living through you. So open you life up, lay your own life to the side, and start taking God seriously. Build up that “mustard seed” faith in Him and begin to move mountains!

Clean or Unclean

Matthew 15:11 ~ “What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him “unclean”, but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him “unclean”.

How often do you pretend to be a Christian to impress those around you? How many times do you say you are praying for someone, and really you never do? How many times do you say you give it all to God when really you are keeping a lot of it to yourself still? All of these things are common among many “Christians”

Matthew 15:7 ~ “These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their heart isn’t in it. They act like they’re worshiping me, but they don’t mean it. They just use me as a cover for teaching whatever suits their fancy.” So now you must stop. Think about what you were/have been saying. And take this time to make things clean, truthful, and meaningful. Let God do the speaking through you, for you will reach many more people this way and you will have a pure heart.

Matthew 15:17-20 ~ Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man “unclean”. For what comes out of the heart come evil and makes a man “unclean”; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him “unclean”. It crazy to think of things this way; things that enter through your mouth will eventually come out but not necessarily make you unclean, it is what comes from your heart that is unclean. Now exam your heart. What is it that causes the evilness of your heart that in result makes you unclean? How can you fix this?

The importance of being a Christian is having the opportunity to bless those people around you who maybe don’t know Christ, so that one day they will have the opportunity to grow in Christ just as you have. Matthew 15 has really spoken to me and made me question the way I do things and the things I allow come into my life. Here are a few questions that got me to thinking and hopefully will speak to you too. How can you accomplish spreading Gods word with an unclean heart? How can you really grow closer to God if you are just acting the part? Don’t fall into the routine of everyday things. Not only does this damage your life but the lives around you. And finally don’t let the things of this world consume and pollute your life. Pray for a clean heart, one that will glorify God and allow you to accomplish His will for you!

What Are You Chasing After?

I was reading a devotional book the other day and I came across a crazy story. It said, “Some years ago, three hundred whales were found marooned on a beach. Scientists speculated that the whales had been chasing small fish and had become trapped in shallow water when the tide went out. So by chasing sardines, these gigantic creatures were led to their doom.”

Do you ever think that if you had the chance to do something over again, you would do it completely different? Of course, we all have that thought! But what makes us want to have a “do-over” in life? Could it be because we made a mistake, weren’t happy with how things ended, or think we could do better next time? Those are all great explanations, but why is that we don’t just do things the right way the first time? It probably has something to do with those “sardines” we are chasing after and get caught up with.

Its seems as though we get so caught up in the worldly things around us that we push God off to the side and pretty much tell him, “I’ll get back to you when I get everything else done or when I get bored and there is nothing else to do.” Life is so short to leave God out of the picture! James 4:14~ “You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

The basic principle is to love God and to love others. 1 John 5:2 ~ “We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments.” If you really love God, you will naturally want to do the things that please Him. And with your eyes focused on Him, you will not be chasing after those “sardines” around your life, instead maybe those “sardines” will begin to chase after you in hope to receive the joy God has graciously poured out already on you! So what are you chasing after in your life, God or “sardines”?

Mind Blowing

As I look out my window tonight I look up to the dark sky filled with the stars all shining bright. As I gazed over the sky and spotted out the constellations I recognized I began to wonder how something this big and wonderful could have ever been created, much less thought of! Throughout the day we pass by trees, birds, and flowers and we can take in all of the wonderful things God has shined his light on. But how often do we take the time to admire such beauty at night?

I took an astronomy class my first year of college. The professor was overwhelmed by what was in our night sky. She would encourage us to get a group of friends together, pull out some lawn chairs, and pop a bag of popcorn and examine the night sky all night (of course we never did that because that just seemed silly). She was so familiar with every constellation. She knew each one by name and the exact declination from the horizon. But what she didn’t know was who could have created this.

I grew up in a very small town, so at night it seemed as though the stars were so much bigger and brighter there. Lying on the trampoline and looking at the sky never gave me a clear understanding of how wonderful these stars are. So during this class, we had labs on the outskirts of town; far way from all the city lights. I was told through the whole semester that the biggest looking star was actually Saturn. I had no idea, so I just said ok and went on. But it wasn’t until the last lab meeting that we pulled out the giant telescope and got to see for our own eye Saturn. We could see it in such detail; we could even see the ring around it!

This just blew my mind! All of those nights while lying on the trampoline I thought those were all just plain stars. And all of this time, my professor credited the power of this galaxy to scientist and technology, since of course they were the ones to provide us with the equipment needed to see farther than any eye could see. But she is totally wrong!! There was no use of technology or science for the creation of this galaxy it was just……

“God spoke: “Lights! Come out! Shine in Heaven’s sky! Separate Day from Night. Mark seasons and days and years, Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth”. And there it was. God made two big lights, the larger to take charge of Day, The smaller to be in charge of Night; he made the stars. God placed them in the heavenly sky to light up Earth and oversee Day and Night, to separate light and dark…” – Genesis 1:14-19

Spoken!! How amazing is that!!! It seems like a lot of times today, we have to see things to believe them. I encourage you to start reading Mathew. You can’t actually see the miracles Jesus performed, but with His word being the Truth, that should mean everything and more to you! Take time not only to admire in astonishment the things around us God has created, but more importantly realize the power he has to just speak things and they become. Our God is a powerful amazing God. He is holding on to you, guiding you, and providing you with the strength for each day! Now that’s what I say is truly mind blowing!

Time Flies

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." - Philippians 1:6

I heard on the radio the other day this caller that said they can't keep going and that they were struggling with everything in life. They were quickly responded to by the radio spokesmen who said "There is a reason you are still here. It is because you have not completed the task God has given you. He has set up your life in a way that, in his perfect timing, you will fulfill all of the tasks He has asked of you." God doesn't let you give up if you are taking time to serve and glorify Him. "...everything that has happened to me in the past has helped to spread the Good News today." - Philippians 1:12

Sometimes we wonder, "How am I ever going to meet all of these tasks and complete all of the goals God has asked of me if I am always busy with school, work, and the extra activities in our life?" I don't know about you but I like to be organized and know what the day has in store before the day starts. Time goes by so fast sometimes it’s hard to keep up of everywhere you have to be! I have my schedule written in my phone, on my internet homepage, in my planner, and on my dry erase board in my room. It's as if I think I might forget something. But when the day comes to an end, I think back and not once did I look at any of the calendars I had prepared. So I begin to think. What if I took away all of those planners and calendars and just began to live my life for God. Would I live it any differently? I believe the answer to this is yes!

When I am not focused on the minute by minute detail of the things I need to get done, I am more open to the people around me and the opportunity to share God's word. The everyday task that we go through in a "routine" day can easily be used to bless those around us and meet the tasks God has challenged us with. "Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ....Don't be intimidated in anyway by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ, but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this struggle together." – Philippians 1:27-30.

Challenge yourself to live outside the calendar you have prepared. Make those events meaningful and don’t let time pass you up. This will stretch your faith, grow you closer to God, and accomplish all that He has in store for you!

Hero

When something amazing happens and ends happily ever after, people refer to the person that took action as a hero. A hero has been defined as someone who steps up when they don’t have to. There are many cases in the bible that talk about heroes; heroes that step up to defend God and in result are protected by God through the whole process. Here are just a few heroes the Bible talks about.

Daniel – He was thrown into a pit with a man-eating lion, yet he was never eaten. The Lions growled at Daniel but God closed their mouth to protect Daniel for he stood up for his belief in God and knew God would bring him out safely. (Daniel 6)

David – He fought the giant Goliath and won by throwing a stone at the giant’s head and killing him! David threatened the giant by saying “You come against me with sword and spear, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.” And that is exactly what he did! (1 Samuel 17)

Noah – He was the only good man left on earth. God asked him to take two of every kind of animal and put them on an ark he was to build. The earth was flooded. Noah followed the exact orders of God and kept the animals and his family safe until the water had left the earth. (Genesis 6)

Paul – He was thrown in jail just because he was Christian and he was proclaiming his love for God. But once again, God stepped in looked after him, and had him removed from jail. (Acts 16)

These are just a few of the heroes. In the place we live now, it’s hard to imagine being thrown in jail because you are a Christian, or attacking a giant, or saving the earth from a flood! These stories just blow our minds, because we know the kind of courage and faith it took to approach these tasks! These remarkable men stepped up to the call of God and in result are heroes! Jesus, higher than any other, stepped up and gave his life for us all! Now, that’s a true hero! My hope is that we can all become attentive to the opportunities around us to be heroes like these men. Stand firm in your faith and be courageous, God will pull you through it all!

Robbing God

Think back to the Christmas season. Imagine yourself with your family driving through residential areas at night to admire the Christmas decorations and lights people work so hard on. For the most part, you spend your time driving through the upper-class neighborhoods, where money is no problem for anyone living there. They obviously have so much money they are able to go all out on the lights to attract the most attention during the season. As we look at each house we can tell they have to be a blessed family to have all that they do. It’s just as God said “…But now we call the arrogant blessed...” ~ Malachi 3:15. But I bet if you were to enter through those front doors, of some of the homes, you would come to realize they do have everything they could ever want or need but for some crazy reason, they are still not happy. They don’t feel as blessed as they should be. And for majority of the time it’s because the joy they are looking for in the money they have is not the real joy that they need.

The Lord said “…Return to me, and I will return to you…” ~ Malachi 3:7. Give to God and he will give back to you. Sounds simple. God has provided you with exactly what you need at that given time. For majority of people He has given you a job, a house, a family, and fulfilled several of your wants and desires. For God to be so giving why would you not take the time to give back to show your thanks and appreciation for what He has done for you.

The Lord said “Test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” ~ Malachi 3:10. After a statement like this who would not dare try! It’s a tenth of your earnings. God doesn’t need your money, but He does need your commitment to Him. He has provided you with the health and abilities to do what you do to earn money, so give back and thank Him every day for those qualities He has freely given you. “They will be mine in the day when I make up my treasured possessions. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between those who serve God and those who do not.” ~ Malachi 3:17-18. More than earning money, God has placed you in a job (whether you think it’s a “God Glorifying Job” or not) to witness to others and to serve those around you. So don’t rob God by taking the things He has given you. Take time to share what He has given you and glorify our glorious God! You will be blessed!

You Have Not, Because You Have Asked Not

Mark 11:24 ~ “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Prayer, what a powerful tool that most people push off to the side. It’s funny how it seems like only in special occasions is it okay to pray. Sure you may pray as a family before dinner; before Thanksgiving, Easter, and Christmas lunch; or when times are rough and people are hurting. And in all of those times there seems to be this generic prayer that everyone says “Dear God, Thank you for this day and this food you have provided. May it be nourishment to our body. Amen.” Sure that is a great prayer, but how often do we get alone with God and really thank Him, ask His forgiveness, and ask Him where He needs us that day so that we may glorify Him? For a lot of people, including me, it is not near as often as it should be. It’s as if we are walking through life and trying to make it our life and live it as we are wanting.

It says in Luke 11:9-10 ~ “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” This all comes from a simple conversation and time spent with God. He will provide you and equip you with everything you could ever need if you just pray and ask. But the motives behind a prayer are very crucial.

James 4:2-3 ~ “You want something but you don’t get it….You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures”. You may think that you can trick God into giving you what you want if you just ask in the right ways, but God knows exactly what you are going to do with the things He gives you before He gives them. You need to make yourself right with God, and seek the path He wants to lead you down. Pray for guidance and direction. Pray that He makes those paths clear for you and opens your eyes to what all He has in store just for you!

Prayer is like coming to the dinner table. You come in after a long day of work and are starving. You sit down and see all the food around you. You begin digging in and indulging all of the tasteful food placed in front of you. And by the end of the meal you have been refilled and are full of energy to keep going. God gives you that energy you need through prayer as he does with the food you consume. Psalm 34:8 ~ “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Taste and see what the Lord has in store for you. He is waiting for you to just ask. Don’t just sit back and let life roll past you.

We have all seen and read what He has done and what He will do for all of those who believe. When you are reading a book, you don’t read the first chapter and the last and call it good. The stuff in the middle is just as important and leads you to the end conclusion. The things between what He has already done and what He will do are just as important, especially during your lifetime. Make more time for God each day, ask Him for the things you need. I promise He will pour great blessings on you and set you on a new and fresh foundation!

Stress

Rick Warren once said “God gives you just enough time to do His Will. If you always feel behind, you’re trying to do more than he intended.”

Just like me, I’m sure you feel stressed at times. It can be that you are stressed with work, school, and/or family. It often feels like there are never enough hours in the day to get the things you need to get done, done. You can try hiding your stress when you are around others but that never resolves the problem, and in facts makes it worse. What usually happens is that when we feel like we are behind, we work harder and longer, which creates more stress and takes time away from the social part of life where you relax and enjoy time with family and friends. There is an equal balance of work vs. social time, and no part is greater than the other.

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is steadfast. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” ~ Isaiah 26:3-4. When you are set to a schedule with God being the forefront of each new day, the Lord will provide peace and calmness to your life. He will place you where you need to be in order to accomplish the goals He has placed for you. Like Rick said, “If you always feel behind, you’re trying to do more than he intended.” God will give you all the time you need to complete His task, so if you are feeling behind, it could be because you are trying to do more than He intended you to do.

Freshmen year of college I was asked to take a strengths test to see what my top five strengths were. Come to find out, my top strength is Achiever. An achiever is described as a constant need for achievement. It said “…you feel as if every day starts at zero and by the end of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about yourself. No matter how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied.” Satin is great at making you feel like a failure. He is great at telling you, “No, you haven’t completed this. Why don’t you do just this one fun thing before you start this next project, or why don’t you just take a rest and get back to it later? And so on and so on.” You begin taking on these task that fill up your day, and by the end of the day you are left farther back than when you started the day. You can try going to bed later, getting up earlier, and skipping lunch to catch up but ten times out of ten, that will never work until God is put first in your day.

The last part of the achiever definition said “You have a fire burning inside you. It pushes you to do more, to achieve more. After each accomplishment is reached, the fire dwindles for a moment, but very soon rekindles itself, forcing you toward the next accomplishment.” This fire that is inside of you encouraging and pushing you is great to have, as long as you are using it to complete the task God has given you. I hope that you take some time to reflect on your everyday schedule. You can even write down everything you do each day and after a week look back and see where God was put in that schedule. See where you met the goals He had given you for that week. I promise, it will put things in perspective and maybe even be a huge eye opener. Then with a few changes the feelings of being behind and stressed will no longer exist! “But those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” ~ Psalm 34:10

The Little Things

I have just started my new job at an accounting firm, so this week has been full of adjustments. I left a job which I knew every person and each person’s personality, as well as a building I could run through backwards and forwards with my eyes closed in the dark! It was a place I felt totally comfortable in and a place where I have reach great recognition! It may have only been a part-time job and only for two and a half short years, but it felt like a big portion of my life! I had worked hard to get where I was, so leaving was harder than I imagined. But when all good things come to an end, God always opens another door and a new direction in your life.

I am now in a new location across town with new people (most of which are a lot older than me), I don’t have as much interaction with customers, for the most part I am in one room or at a desk, and to top it off my pay went down nearly two dollars! Now, you are probably wondering why in the world I took this job and how in the world can I be excited about this! Well, this job is in the career field I am studying and God has blessed me with this opportunity I have been searching for the past few years, so I know great things are to come from it!

But I must back up real quick. When I heard about this job and found out the details, I have to admit, I wasn’t as excited as I had hoped for. I found out that this job was a lot of errand running (going to the bank, post office, getting the oil changed in the partners cars, etc) Yes, there was a little accounting I got to look over time to time, but it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. Jesus said in Luke 16:10 – “Unless you are faithful in the small matters, you won’t be faithful in the large ones” After reading this, this job requirements and thinking about why I was really here started to make a lot more sense. God may be cutting my pay and putting me in a place I am unfamiliar with, but I felt him saying that if I can’t start from the bottom again with the little things, I will never amount to what it takes to become the accountant I hope to be when the big things come my way.

Matthew 24:45-47 ~ “Who is a faithful, sensible servant…? If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. I assure you, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.” These little things that I am doing now are testing my faithfulness. I have complete faith in God and the plans He has for me, so I know that being where I am today is just part of the path of life that He is leading me down. I hope that you can take time to think about where you are today, how you got to where you are, and where you see God leading you in the future. When you get frustrated with the little things in life, know that you are just being tested “and when the master returns and finds the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward”.