Proverbs 30
7 Two things I asked of You,
Do not refuse me before I die:
If you had to write it down; If Jesus showed up right now beside you and said, “Ask anything of me, and I’ll give it to you,” what would you ask for? Take 5 minutes or take 5 days if you need to, but write it down. I read in the book of James today about asking, too. James tells us we don’t have because we don’t ask. He goes on to say that a lot of times we don’t ask because we either know that it’s against God’s will or we think it is.
So, my thought today is, “What do I want?” What do I really want? You see, when you know what you want, you know what’s important to you, and you get a clear picture of your priorities. Second, we have a God that longs to give to us. He gave us even his own Son. I believe that according to his word, that if he gave us the best in all of history, the best of all that is or will be, that he’ll also give to us freely smaller things. In human terms, if you’re able, and you joyfully give your child a multi million dollar mansion (so joyfully that you hire hosts of choirs to sing about it and go out of your way to provide the absolute best of the best), would you refuse them something as mundane as a candy bar, or a lawn mower, or a car?
To put it in God terms, if God gave us his most precious gift, his Son, (and gave it in extravagant manner complete with angelic choirs, signs in the heavens, and etc) will he not freely give us lesser things according to his will when we ask? What do you want? Ask him for it. Last night my wife asked to be healed, and she was, and she took our puppy for a run.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Friday, June 27, 2014
Promises Promises
James 1
12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Promises. I promised a lot when I was a kid. "I promise I won't do that again." Yeah, that was never true. Now that I'm a man, I realize that my word means something, or should mean something. I want my word and my promises to have weight, and not be the light fluffy stuff of childhood. You see a promise is only as good as the person making the promise. A promise from my wife has a lot more weight than the promise of a stranger or someone I work with.
The Lord has made us promises, and that means more than the promise of men. I don't know what kind of week you've had, whether a week of trial or blessing, but I do know that the Lord himself has promised to never leave you nor forsake you. He's promised a crown of life to those that keep the faith. He's promised to stick closer than a brother. Rest well in his promises. His word is true and will come through for you.
12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Promises. I promised a lot when I was a kid. "I promise I won't do that again." Yeah, that was never true. Now that I'm a man, I realize that my word means something, or should mean something. I want my word and my promises to have weight, and not be the light fluffy stuff of childhood. You see a promise is only as good as the person making the promise. A promise from my wife has a lot more weight than the promise of a stranger or someone I work with.
The Lord has made us promises, and that means more than the promise of men. I don't know what kind of week you've had, whether a week of trial or blessing, but I do know that the Lord himself has promised to never leave you nor forsake you. He's promised a crown of life to those that keep the faith. He's promised to stick closer than a brother. Rest well in his promises. His word is true and will come through for you.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Sausage Balls
Proverbs 25
16 Have you found honey? Eat only what you need,
That you not have it in excess and vomit it.
Raise your hand if you love sausage balls. That's right, I just raised my hand. For those not raised in the deep south, sausage balls are a delicious combo of cheese, breakfast sausage, and bisquick. I never had them before I moved to South Carolina, and I am quickly making up for lost time with them. They’re awesome. Perfect man food. Hot, spicy, cheesy, salty. Try it.
There was one time when I went a little overboard. Man, I felt like absolute garbage. I probably ate 1.5 dozen of those things, and then I was sick as a dog. I learned the hard way that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. From this verse, I take away the importance of knowing when enough is enough, and sharing your excess with others.
16 Have you found honey? Eat only what you need,
That you not have it in excess and vomit it.
Raise your hand if you love sausage balls. That's right, I just raised my hand. For those not raised in the deep south, sausage balls are a delicious combo of cheese, breakfast sausage, and bisquick. I never had them before I moved to South Carolina, and I am quickly making up for lost time with them. They’re awesome. Perfect man food. Hot, spicy, cheesy, salty. Try it.
There was one time when I went a little overboard. Man, I felt like absolute garbage. I probably ate 1.5 dozen of those things, and then I was sick as a dog. I learned the hard way that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. From this verse, I take away the importance of knowing when enough is enough, and sharing your excess with others.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
How to Build a House
Proverbs 24
3 By wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
4 And by knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
Have you ever watched a construction crew build a house or a building? My dad is king of remodeling his house. He’s remodeled it to one degree or another a half a dozen times. Let me tell you, you can’t just hand any Joe Shmoe a hammer and nails and expect him to build a livable house. It takes knowledge and wisdom to build or renovate a house that’s livable and up to code.
I believe the same things are true for spiritual and emotional building. I want to provide a godly and loving family for my wife and kids. I’m not a very wealthy man, but I can provide a house, a family, with pleasant rooms and precious riches by walking with Jesus and obeying his word. I don’t have to be the strongest man on the block, the most handsome, the richest, or the most powerful. I just have to follow Jesus, and walk in his word. Today is a new day. If your week is off to a good start, continue building on that in Jesus. If yesterday was a disaster, give it to Jesus and start building fresh today. I’m praying for you.
3 By wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
4 And by knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.
Have you ever watched a construction crew build a house or a building? My dad is king of remodeling his house. He’s remodeled it to one degree or another a half a dozen times. Let me tell you, you can’t just hand any Joe Shmoe a hammer and nails and expect him to build a livable house. It takes knowledge and wisdom to build or renovate a house that’s livable and up to code.
I believe the same things are true for spiritual and emotional building. I want to provide a godly and loving family for my wife and kids. I’m not a very wealthy man, but I can provide a house, a family, with pleasant rooms and precious riches by walking with Jesus and obeying his word. I don’t have to be the strongest man on the block, the most handsome, the richest, or the most powerful. I just have to follow Jesus, and walk in his word. Today is a new day. If your week is off to a good start, continue building on that in Jesus. If yesterday was a disaster, give it to Jesus and start building fresh today. I’m praying for you.
Monday, June 23, 2014
Biblical Fortune Telling
Proverbs 23
18 Surely there is a future,
And your hope will not be cut off.
Back to the Future. “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads,” said Doc Brown. He and Marty McFly were going to the future. And in the future, cars didn’t just drive on surface roads, they flew. I thought that was the coolest of the ‘Back to the Future’ movies. Marty goes to the future, and gets to see how things work out. He gets to see some of what is to come.
As Christians, we can look forward to our future. We can rest easy in knowing what our future holds. No one else can claim to know their future for certain. No other religion can make, and follow through, with such bold claims: Your hope will not be cut off. God is planning a hopeful and glorious future full of life, full of joy, and full of his presence.
Remember today, that no matter what the experts say, no matter what you feel, no matter what you ‘know’ is going to happen- God is in control, and as he tells us in the book of Jeremiah 29:11 “ For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” God tells us over and over that he will not abandon us. He will come through. Believe in him, and receive his promise. This is a new day. It’s the start of a new week. Trust in God. He’ll hold true to his word.
18 Surely there is a future,
And your hope will not be cut off.
Back to the Future. “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads,” said Doc Brown. He and Marty McFly were going to the future. And in the future, cars didn’t just drive on surface roads, they flew. I thought that was the coolest of the ‘Back to the Future’ movies. Marty goes to the future, and gets to see how things work out. He gets to see some of what is to come.
As Christians, we can look forward to our future. We can rest easy in knowing what our future holds. No one else can claim to know their future for certain. No other religion can make, and follow through, with such bold claims: Your hope will not be cut off. God is planning a hopeful and glorious future full of life, full of joy, and full of his presence.
Remember today, that no matter what the experts say, no matter what you feel, no matter what you ‘know’ is going to happen- God is in control, and as he tells us in the book of Jeremiah 29:11 “ For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” God tells us over and over that he will not abandon us. He will come through. Believe in him, and receive his promise. This is a new day. It’s the start of a new week. Trust in God. He’ll hold true to his word.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Gardening
Proverbs 22
9 He who is generous will be blessed,
For he gives some of his food to the poor.
My Mommaw Lopez had a garden when I was a kid. She babysat me a bit when I was a little kid, so I spent a good bit of time in her garden. Ok, funny story. I was very allergic to gnats when I was a kid. Me ears would swell up, my eyes would swell shut. I’d be playing, and working in the garden, then boom. I’m like Will Smith in Hitch, all swollen up and zonked on Benedryl.
Funny thing about a garden, though. You plant corn, and corn grows. You plant peas, and peas grow. In life, if you plant generosity, blessings grow. I hope you’re able to plant generosity this week, and that the seeds sprout, and grow to maturity-blessings for generations to come.
9 He who is generous will be blessed,
For he gives some of his food to the poor.
My Mommaw Lopez had a garden when I was a kid. She babysat me a bit when I was a little kid, so I spent a good bit of time in her garden. Ok, funny story. I was very allergic to gnats when I was a kid. Me ears would swell up, my eyes would swell shut. I’d be playing, and working in the garden, then boom. I’m like Will Smith in Hitch, all swollen up and zonked on Benedryl.
Funny thing about a garden, though. You plant corn, and corn grows. You plant peas, and peas grow. In life, if you plant generosity, blessings grow. I hope you’re able to plant generosity this week, and that the seeds sprout, and grow to maturity-blessings for generations to come.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Guard Duty
Proverbs 21
23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue,
Guards his soul from troubles.
Guard duty. Most folks outside the Military probably don’t know that there’s at least 237 different kinds of guard duty. Ok, so that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but not a big exaggeration. When I went through Army Basic Training, we had Fire Guard- someone is always on guard in the barracks, Roaming Guard- someone was always patrolling the exterior of the barracks, and while on field exercises, you were pretty much expected to always be guarding something- your vehicle, your weapon, your buddy, the tree next to the guy your buddy is talking to. The military is big on guarding.
Why should we as Christians guard our words? To be on guard is to be watchful for threat or danger. To be a guard is to be a protector, a watchman, a first line of defense. We need to be on guard because we have an enemy. Our enemy would love for us to shoot of at the mouth and wreck our testimony, or our relationships. We need to be on guard because there is danger in our words; there is power. We need to be on guard because we can keep our soul from trouble. I don’t need any more trouble, and I’m sure you don’t either. Let’s be vigilant in guarding our words, and bringing peace to our souls.
23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue,
Guards his soul from troubles.
Guard duty. Most folks outside the Military probably don’t know that there’s at least 237 different kinds of guard duty. Ok, so that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but not a big exaggeration. When I went through Army Basic Training, we had Fire Guard- someone is always on guard in the barracks, Roaming Guard- someone was always patrolling the exterior of the barracks, and while on field exercises, you were pretty much expected to always be guarding something- your vehicle, your weapon, your buddy, the tree next to the guy your buddy is talking to. The military is big on guarding.
Why should we as Christians guard our words? To be on guard is to be watchful for threat or danger. To be a guard is to be a protector, a watchman, a first line of defense. We need to be on guard because we have an enemy. Our enemy would love for us to shoot of at the mouth and wreck our testimony, or our relationships. We need to be on guard because there is danger in our words; there is power. We need to be on guard because we can keep our soul from trouble. I don’t need any more trouble, and I’m sure you don’t either. Let’s be vigilant in guarding our words, and bringing peace to our souls.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)