Monday, November 28, 2016

Trust and humility

Lessons are sometimes hard to learn.  There's a saying in my family attributed to my great great great grandmother.  "Convince a Gentry against his will he's of the same opinion still."  I often see online very non biblical statements posted by people who claim to be Christians but their theology is askew.  I did a teaser for this blog on facebook and called it askew theology goes on a boat ride with Jesus.  This is the stuff I'm talking about.  "God give his hardest missions to his strongest soldiers."  Or.  "God would never give me more than I could handle."  Where are these principles in the Bible?  If you study the interactions between Jesus and the disciples there's other lessons to be learned.  God sets up and allows things to teach you to seek Him.  Mark 8:14-21  
"14But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. 15As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”
16At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. 17Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? 18‘You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’a Don’t you remember anything at all? 19When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?”
“Twelve,” they said.
20“And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?”
“Seven,” they said.
21“Don’t you understand yet?” he asked them."

He tries to get the disciples attention off food to remind them He can take care of them.  Does your problem seem more than you can handle?  Do you ever think that maybe just maybe it's a chance for you to surrender and trust God?  When you do that it's your strength not His.  Claiming credit for what God did is dangerous!  Follow instead 1 Peter 5:5-7
"5In the same way, you younger men must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, serve each other in humility, for
“God opposes the proud
but favors the humble.”a
6So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you."
I'm going to be brutally honest with you I have trouble with humbling myself and trusting God to take care of me.  sometimes it's a weekly and daily lesson I have to learn.  living paycheck to paycheck is hard but the way we get hit with bills doesn't make it easier.  I long for the day I can get paid and not have to pay a bill with that paycheck.  I work extra time as often as possible to pick up more money.  The point to all I'm saying is this.  lately when I start worrying about things like money I walk around at work and i see the water in the ship channel, the clouds, birds and animals and I breathe my lungs fill and empty and that's when God reminds me I can take care of you and I desire to but you have to surrender and let me.  Like I said before it's not an easy lesson.  









Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Moved with Compassion

"Everyone needs compassion A love that's never failing let mercy fall on me."  I've been lately reading through Esther, Ezekiel, Jeremiah finished Matthew and started Mark.  I don't always get it right but I try to read at least a chapter from each book a day.  I noticed a recurring phrase and I wanted to show it to you.  Mark 1:40-41 A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed.  "If you are willing you can heal me and make me clean,"  he said.  (Moved with compassion) Jesus reached out and touched him.  "I am willing" he said "Be healed."  Due to their uncleanliness and disease lepers were outcasts of society and here is the Son of God Moved with Compassion not only touching the untouchable but healing this man and getting close to him.    The Bible is God's love story to man.  "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."  Romans 5:8  That right there is Compassion brought to life.  Jesus compassion cost him his life.  Thank Him for his compassion and share it with others.  If you think you have nothing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving you have a compassionate God who loved you so much he touched the untouchable sinners and lepers with the gift of his Son.  "And down through the ages again and again. It's the greatest story ever told.  Straight from the pages from beginning to end it's the greatest story ever told.  Wise men could never begin to explain the measure of grace this wonderful book holds."  


















Tuesday, November 15, 2016

What does God say I can boast in

Jeremiah 9:23-24 This is what the Lord says: "Don't let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches.  But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things.  I the Lord have spoken!"  God doesn't leave people a lot of room whereby to be bragging.  If you think you have anything to brag about you need to check Ephesians 2:1-10.  I discovered a passage this week that to me was very beautiful to me.  Nehemiah 8:8 "They read from the law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage."  God wants his people to know him!  It's the whole reason Jesus was sent to earth.  Matthew 1:23 "Look the virgin will conceive a child!  She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means `God is with us.'"  I urge you to draw closer to God.  Because Jesus is alive and God is with us we can boast in Him and His unfailing love.  
"O, trampled death, where is your sting?  The angels roar for Christ our King. O, praise the name of the Lord our God. O, praise his name forever more.  For endless days we will sing your praise O, Lord O, Lord our God!"