Tag: faith

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A New Heart

I woke up this morning to my favorite Friday song – Sammy Kershaw’s Finally Friday.

It’s good to be right on top of a few days of away from the grind of work, but there’s still one more day at the ol’ mill before we can “let the good times roll”.

But what’s so great about having a day between us and the weekend is we have another day to choose to serve God.  You have another day to so the renewing gifts of the God you serve.

For example check out Ezekiel where he is telling the people of Israel that when they return to him he will restore their hearts.

26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.  Ezekiel 36:26-27 (New International Version)

What’s so cool is you can take part in that same gift.  Use today to take advantage of the promise of God.  Draw near to Him, and enjoy the renewing of you mind and spirit.

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Best Laid Plans

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, Jeremiah 29:11-14 (New International Version)

I have been frustrated lately by plans.  The ineffectiveness of my plans, the impact of other people’s plans on me and the seemingly lack of control that I might have in the goings on around me.  The toll of daily life can distract you from the fact that God does have a plan for you and he will use you.

Over this past weekend, while I continued to be in a stupor about my plans,  I received an email from a good friend from work.  I had been wondering why he was not on line Friday, as we had some items were where debating and I was searching for him via instant message.  Well, turns out he had had a heart attack on Thursday afternoon, and subsequently underwent major heart surgery on Monday. And then there’s Monday.  On Monday morning, I awoke to the news about a teenager who had a diving accident over the weekend and was potentially paralyzed.  A few hours later I would discover that I knew this family.

WOW, so as this week has continued, I thought about how immediately and urgently their plans had been changed.  Then there’s a third friend in her thirties who had a heart attack last month.  (Ok, it does seem that I am getting old – so and so is sick, so and so broke a hip, etc., I promise this blog will not turn into the gore report)

But seriously, these events were not in their plans – BELIEVE ME!  So how do we rationalize the verse in Jeremiah in fewer than 400 words?  Well, this week I have been trying to realize that God’s plan for us may not be as clear as “Go here and to this for 2 days and then go here and do that for 2 weeks, and then spend a year in this city”.  I think God’s plan for us is worked out in the mundane, normal, drama filled life.  God’s plan for the dude I mentioned yesterday is not nearly what he thought it might be.  God’s plan for the three individual’s above may be a little cloudy at the moment.  The same may go for you and me.  But the cool thing is there is a promise,  if you seek me, I will be found.

Today, let God work in your life, instead of working God into your life.  Give him your heart.

(That’s just less than 500 words, what do you think?)

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One Faith

Tonight I am heading to camp.  Not as a camper but as a speaker!!! I remember those “guys” from my youth.  The mystery speakers that  show up at night and share a sometimes boring, sometime interesting camp talk.  The problem is that I know that I actually did learn stuff from these guys and so tonight I am extremely nervous as to what to say to a bunch of 8-14 year old children!

My topic is one faith (Ephesians 4) and since the topic is so broad, I am not sure whether to talk about mustard seeds, martyrs, righteousness or forgiveness.  Should I demonstrate a trust fall, or blind fold one of them and have them listen as I walk them through a maze.  Should I talk about the assurance of things hoped for? Should I do an exegesis of Romans!  What do you think?  I would love some ideas!

It’s so difficult because its so complete and big and complex, but at the same time it is so simple and straightforward:

8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.   9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!  Romans 5:7-9

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Comfort Zone

Wow!  What a fantastic week!  Ray and Joel did a great job sharing their experiences and trials this week, and I want to thank them for that.  Amy and I are heading to meet up with the boys this morning.  They just finished up a week of skim boarding camp in Delaware.

The interesting thing about that is that one of them was just not really excited about this at all and was quite nervous about the proposition.  It was the whole concept of a new endeavor that had him a little worried.  Turns out, or so it seems, he has had a very enjoyable experience. And it was the same for us, this is the first time we had left both boys and gone our own way for YEARS ( maybe FOREVER).

And so it is with our lives.  Ray even referred to it yesterday.  Sometimes, we feel so comfortable in our own place that its hard to leave that comfort zone and experience new things, or even to challenge our selves to grow.  But as Mary Poppins says “a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down” and as our Lord and Savior says ” a mustard seed of faith moves mountains”.

Step out there today.  Whether it is forcing yourself to speak to someone, sharing your faith, expressing your thoughts, experiencing something new, or even ordering something different from the menu!  Or Maybe you need to let go, as Amy and I did, but in a larger sense and put more of the handling of life’s events in the hands of the Lord.  Do it today, step out of your comfort zone and see where you get taken.

8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (New International Version)

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everyday

everyday.

It has such an overwhelming tone to it.  Sometimes it seems just so hard to find the motivation to get up and get going, to go to work and live the day.  The monotony of it all can feel so extreme.  It’s here that I have found myself over the last few months.  Maybe you are too?  Pained by the everyday, the monotony, the seemingly meaningless nature of the activities of the day.  I find myself disappointed when the day is over, as I know that I have to get up in the morning to do it all again. ARGH.  Its sort of like Toby Mac says in his song Tonight.

We go back, we go forth,
We go back
I’m sick with vertigo
Weary of my ways, my days
My absent flow so
I wanna feel a new day

This has really been heavy on my heart lately and I think, it just should not be that way.  I have been trying to figure out how to combat this, by focusing on the people and the mercies and the little things that are so amazing that are around us everyday.  And I find comfort here in Lamentations:

21This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

22It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

23They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

24The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

25The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

26It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentations 3:21-26, King James Version)

So, realizing that his mercies are new every morning, I am trying to change my approach to the mundane, and to see the amazing things the Lord is setting before me.  How about you?  Any ideas?