Month: July 2024

Unstuck

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“…The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1

In high school I met a friend who was into weightlifting after school. He introduced me to his friends and they became my social club, a friendly place to hang out, and a place to learn something new. Between my sophomore and junior years there was a transformation. The rail thin skinny kid I once was changed and the football coach was suddenly paying attention. That’s when I realized for the first time in my young life that

Change Is Possible.

We tend to live our lives believing that nothing can ever change. That impossibilities are all we have to look toward to. We fail to realize that the ultimate possibilities rest with God. Prayer can be your first step forward to something new. For with prayer, you have God’s undivided attention.

Carry On

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God said, “you who have been borne by Me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am God, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.” Isaiah 46:3-4

There are many words in scripture where it says that God will care for us, but none more straight forward than Isaiah 46:3-4. In this passage God clearly stated that He alone created you and I, just as we are, and from your beginning days to the very end of your life,

God Will Carry you!

When the load gets too heavy, hand it to the Lord. You are not alone.

How Big Is Your Boat?

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God said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.” Exodus 14:16

In the movie “Jaws”, Roy Scheider is leaning over the stern of their small aging fishing boat when he comes face to face with a great white shark. In a moment of sheer panic he backs away in shock at what he’s seen. His only comment, “you’re gonna need a bigger boat!” In our lives today we always seem to need a bigger boat. The doctor walks in, looks us in the eye and says, it’s cancer. The banker calls and says the payment is overdue. A loved one looks at us and says this is beyond repair. There are a thousand and one scenarios in life where we just need a bigger boat. Thankfully,

God Is A God Of Miracles

When you reach out in faith to God, and hand your burden to him, somehow, someway, waters divide and a way through to safety is revealed.

Unbound Faith

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“Without faith it is impossible to please God…” Hebrews 11:6

There is nothing in life that God asks more from us than our faith in Him. Faith is the singularly defining purpose of our lives.

Believe It, Or Not

In my younger years I searched for meaning in life with God on the sidelines. I sensed He was there but He was not tangible to me. Yet in the quiet, still, wee hours of the morning, every time a singular thought would turn toward heaven, inexplicable peace would flood through me. Hebrews 11 starts by saying, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” There is a very real presence that floods through us when we choose believe, and God in response draws near. I can’t explain it other than to say, talk to Him as you would speak tenderly to someone you love. This simple act of faith is incredibly pleasing to God. He will answer.

Look Ahead

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“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” Lamentations 3:22-23

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, famed author of the early 1950’s book “The Power of Positive Thinking” once told me a story of a trip he had taken to Hong Kong. As he walked along the streets looking at the storefronts, one particular storefront stopped him dead in his tracks. It was a tattoo parlor and in the window one of the tattoos emblazoned with the words “Born To Lose”. Being curious he walked inside and found a man hunched over and in the process of styling a tattoo on a young woman’s arm. Norman asked the man, “that tattoo in the window, ‘Born To Lose’. Do people really ask for that to be put on their body?” The tattoo artists did not even take the time to look up as he responded, saying, “Before tattoo on body, tattoo on mind”.

Let Go And Look Forward

Looking back at all of our troubles and mistakes can become addictive, and quickly become our identity. Perhaps the time has come to soak in the promise from God in Lamentations 3. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning”. Trust the new He has planned for you. Great is God’s faithfulness!

Hope

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“Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

I’ve had friends accuse me of wearing rose colored glasses or always seeing the glass half full rather than half empty. They are correct. That’s exactly how I see the world. Within each new day the possibilities are endless. Oh I’ve seen my share of incredible loss and overwhelming grief but I have simply made a choice:

There Is Always Hope

My trust is in the Lord. Trust on our part comes with a promise from God, and God does not make promises lightly. A great example of what I’ll call the ‘Trust Promise’ is found in Jeremiah 17, but there are many more throughout scripture. In short, trust = blessings.

On The Move

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“If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there’, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” Matthew 17:20

Of the many promises of God, the ones that seem to give us pause are the bold proclamations of miracles. We stumble over them, trying to figure out how to interpret them, or apply them to our lives. Can a mountain move? Will God move my mountains? The short answer is,

Yes

Mountains move every day. I’ve seen cancers cured with no medical explanation, finances turned on a dime, and decades long hopeless relationships reunited. Jesus is the master of obstacle removal. The main obstacle between us, and what God wants for our lives, is our Faith and Trust in Him. Mountains move because God moves them. Matthew 19:26 says, “With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

The Farmer

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“Do not grow weary in doing good, for our light affliction is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” 2 Corinthians 4:16 – 18

My grandfather was a farmer who found great satisfaction in working the land in order to not only feed his family, but feed the world. As a child I remembered that he would rise each day before sunrise, and sunset only signaled that he had just a few hours of work left in the day. To me his life was an example of ‘hard work’. Yet I also remember that each breakfast began with reading the Bible, a short devotional, and a prayer of praise, thanking God for the blessings that were all around him. God never said life would be easy, but

God Promised We Can Have A Fulfilling Journey.

He promised that we would find peace in Him, that He would lift us up, that He would never leave us nor forsake us. No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, do not grow weary in doing good. There is fulfillment in the journey.

Answered Prayer

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Jesus said, “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; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

Taylor Sheridan in his western epic series, “1923” wrote, “God provides three answers to prayer;

Yes, Not Yet, & I Have A Better Plan.”

There is so much truth laden in this quote it’s hard to put into words. Looking back over my life God has never said “no” to something I prayed for. For what man would interpret as God’s “no” should more correctly be summed up as “I have a better plan you.” Living out the words of Jesus when He taught us to pray “Thy will be done” is not always easy in the moment, but becomes easy when you live out a lifetime saying these words. Give it a try, and not just for a day or two. I can promise you that living your life asking God to be in control is the most satisfying and fulfilling life you can lead.

Not To Worry

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God said, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.” Isaiah 43:1

Taylor Swift once said, “I think fearless is having fears but jumping anyway”. In other words, don’t let fears get in your way. Yet, the question really remains, is life, absent fear, possible? I’ve reviewed the Bible cover to cover, and one thing that continues to amaze me is how many times the topics of “fear and worry” appear. God repeatedly says, “Fear not”. And yet our response over and over seems to be, “Nah, thanks but, I think I’ll worry anyway.”

Fear and Worry Will Steal Your Hope

Nothing in life is simple I’ll grant you that. However, our minds are amazing creations capable of all kinds of choices. Why not choose to believe the promises of God? These promises come embedded with something called courage. You could very well surprise yourself in the days to come. Jesus said “fear not”. Why not take him up on his offer.