Thursday, February 23, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Trust In the Lord with all Thine Heart
This morning as I was doing my devotions I began to ponder a thought that has been on my heart for the last several days. How much do we really trust the Lord?
When we cease from trying to figure out how the chair is going to hold us up and begin to rest in the provision of that chair is when we truly begin to understand the meaning of trust! We spend so much time trying to figure out how the Lord is going to hold us up that we forget to rest in him. How do we let go and rest?
I think this next verse really speaks volumes of how we let go and rest.
Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
The Lord wants us to learn of him and through the trials in our lives we do learn of him and we do learn how to trust him as time passes in our lives.
Go back to the analogy of the chair. Now if you gave me a chair to sit in and you told me that a 10 year old made the chair I would be a little apprehensive to sit in the chair because of the knowledge I have of its maker. Would you?
If I went ahead and had a seat and it did not collapse to the floor I would learn to trust the ability of the 10 year old. As days pass and I realize the sturdiness of the chair I realize that this chair was made to sustain me, I would over time become so comfortable and fully trusting that the chair is going to hold that it would just become my nature to sit in that chair daily without hesitation.
Now to compare my maker to a 10 year old craftsman is so very inadequate but how many times do we by our actions treat him as such?
Have you checked out his handywork lately?
Psalms 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
I think he is perfectly capible of handling our circumstances all on his own without our interference and our prayers of telling him how to be God!
What? You have never told him how to take care of your situation? I need you to fix this, or I need you to fix that, God, I need the money by such and such date! God, I need you to change my circumstances, I need a bigger house, I need a nicer car, I need you to_______________ (fill in the blank!) Then when he does not come through on our demands we feel like he failed us. Are we planning our life or are we resting in the will of God for our lives?
Does the model prayer go like this? Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Should we let go and let God? Should we bear our burdens to him, tell him how we are feeling in the situation? YES! but putting demands on God, I think not!
I think I spend a lot of time telling God what I want and not spending much time asking him to do what he wants to do with my life and resting in the fact that my Father knows best.
Are you learning of HIM? Are you resting?
Over my life as a Christian I have learned of HIM, He is sweet, loving, kind, and knows so much more what I need in my life than I do. I have found a resting place that is like none other!
Psalms 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusts in him.
When we cease from trying to figure out how the chair is going to hold us up and begin to rest in the provision of that chair is when we truly begin to understand the meaning of trust! We spend so much time trying to figure out how the Lord is going to hold us up that we forget to rest in him. How do we let go and rest?
I think this next verse really speaks volumes of how we let go and rest.
Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
The Lord wants us to learn of him and through the trials in our lives we do learn of him and we do learn how to trust him as time passes in our lives.
Go back to the analogy of the chair. Now if you gave me a chair to sit in and you told me that a 10 year old made the chair I would be a little apprehensive to sit in the chair because of the knowledge I have of its maker. Would you?
If I went ahead and had a seat and it did not collapse to the floor I would learn to trust the ability of the 10 year old. As days pass and I realize the sturdiness of the chair I realize that this chair was made to sustain me, I would over time become so comfortable and fully trusting that the chair is going to hold that it would just become my nature to sit in that chair daily without hesitation.
Now to compare my maker to a 10 year old craftsman is so very inadequate but how many times do we by our actions treat him as such?
Have you checked out his handywork lately?
Psalms 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
I think he is perfectly capible of handling our circumstances all on his own without our interference and our prayers of telling him how to be God!
What? You have never told him how to take care of your situation? I need you to fix this, or I need you to fix that, God, I need the money by such and such date! God, I need you to change my circumstances, I need a bigger house, I need a nicer car, I need you to_______________ (fill in the blank!) Then when he does not come through on our demands we feel like he failed us. Are we planning our life or are we resting in the will of God for our lives?
Does the model prayer go like this? Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Should we let go and let God? Should we bear our burdens to him, tell him how we are feeling in the situation? YES! but putting demands on God, I think not!
I think I spend a lot of time telling God what I want and not spending much time asking him to do what he wants to do with my life and resting in the fact that my Father knows best.
Are you learning of HIM? Are you resting?
Over my life as a Christian I have learned of HIM, He is sweet, loving, kind, and knows so much more what I need in my life than I do. I have found a resting place that is like none other!
Psalms 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusts in him.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Funny but Thought Provoking!
I came across this on the internet today and thought it would be interesting to share with you all…
The following is a confidential report on several candidates being considered for our church leader.
Noah: Former pastorate of 120 years with not even one convert. Prone to unrealistic building projects.
Joseph: A big thinker, but a braggart; believes in dream-interpreting and has a prison record.
Moses: A modest and meek man, but poor communicator - even stuttering at times. Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.
David: The most promising leader of all until we discovered the affair he had with his neighbor’s wife.
Solomon: Great preacher, but our parsonage would never hold all those wives.
Elijah: Prone to depression. Collapses under pressure.
Elisha: Reported to have lived with a single widow while at his former church.
Jeremiah: Emotionally unstable, alarmist, negative, always lamenting things; reported to have taken a long trip to bury his underwear on the bank of a foreign river.
Isaiah: On the fringe? Claims to have seen angels in church. Has trouble with his language.
Jonah: Refused God’s call into ministry until he was forced to obey by getting swallowed up by a great fish. He told us the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.
Melchizedek: Great credentials at current work place, but where does this guy come from? No information on his resume about former work records. Every line about parents was left blank and he refused to supply a birth date.
John: Says he is a Baptist, but definitely doesn’t dress like one. Has slept in the outdoors for months on end, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders.
Peter: Arrogant, brash, and lacking self control. Often speaks without thinking and claims to have walked on water.
Paul: Has a long record of torchering and murdering people. Physically impaired, and claims to have actually heard THE actual, audible voice of God.
Jesus: Befriends prostitutes, hangs out with publicans, and bashes religious leaders. Often wanders off into the mountains or quiet gardens. Claims to be three people all at once – seems a bit schizophrenic.
I wonder which of the people on this list we would have turned away from our churches? Who would we have deemed worthy or unworthy to serve Christ? Who would we have denied time to preach in our church’s pulpit?
I’m glad God can see through all the rubble and mistakes and use a person regardless of his past.
Thank you to Blooger: Grow up
The following is a confidential report on several candidates being considered for our church leader.
Noah: Former pastorate of 120 years with not even one convert. Prone to unrealistic building projects.
Joseph: A big thinker, but a braggart; believes in dream-interpreting and has a prison record.
Moses: A modest and meek man, but poor communicator - even stuttering at times. Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.
David: The most promising leader of all until we discovered the affair he had with his neighbor’s wife.
Solomon: Great preacher, but our parsonage would never hold all those wives.
Elijah: Prone to depression. Collapses under pressure.
Elisha: Reported to have lived with a single widow while at his former church.
Jeremiah: Emotionally unstable, alarmist, negative, always lamenting things; reported to have taken a long trip to bury his underwear on the bank of a foreign river.
Isaiah: On the fringe? Claims to have seen angels in church. Has trouble with his language.
Jonah: Refused God’s call into ministry until he was forced to obey by getting swallowed up by a great fish. He told us the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.
Melchizedek: Great credentials at current work place, but where does this guy come from? No information on his resume about former work records. Every line about parents was left blank and he refused to supply a birth date.
John: Says he is a Baptist, but definitely doesn’t dress like one. Has slept in the outdoors for months on end, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders.
Peter: Arrogant, brash, and lacking self control. Often speaks without thinking and claims to have walked on water.
Paul: Has a long record of torchering and murdering people. Physically impaired, and claims to have actually heard THE actual, audible voice of God.
Jesus: Befriends prostitutes, hangs out with publicans, and bashes religious leaders. Often wanders off into the mountains or quiet gardens. Claims to be three people all at once – seems a bit schizophrenic.
I wonder which of the people on this list we would have turned away from our churches? Who would we have deemed worthy or unworthy to serve Christ? Who would we have denied time to preach in our church’s pulpit?
I’m glad God can see through all the rubble and mistakes and use a person regardless of his past.
Thank you to Blooger: Grow up
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