Memories, Easy Come Easy Go...

Scripture:

Psalm 103:1-8 (NIV)

Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits
who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The Lord works righteousness
    and justice for all the oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses,
    his deeds to the people of Israel:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.

Devotional:

Memories, they are funny things.  It is wild what little trivial things we can easily recall.  Yet at the same time memories elude us.  I can recall details from a movie I watched, or a book I read years ago.  However, I have forgotten what to include what I forgot about last week.  The point is that memories come and go.  They can be easily forgotten.  Then all of a sudden something will trigger a specific memory.  Once started memories can come flooding in.  An example is seeing sweet potatoes.  I see a dish of sweet potatoes and memories of my grandmother come flooding in, memories long forgotten.

In Psalm 103 we are encouraged to remember all that God has done for us.  We are to remember all the benefits of following His ways.  In my opinion remembering God and all He has done and will do is crucial.  It can help shape our attitudes and outlook on life.  When feeling down, upset, or exasperated with life it is these memories of God that can lift us up and help us to continue.  These memories we can reassure us of all that God will continue to do.  We have nothing to fear or stress over.  God will be with us and deliver us.  Just start by remembering something little and then let the memories flood in. 

Remember God in all things.  Remember all that He promises.  Remember what He has delivered you through.  Know that He is with you even now.  It doesn’t matter what is going on.  God will be there and He will take care of it.  So the next time trouble knocks at the door, relax and let God get it.   

Time To Plant Seeds

Scripture:

Numbers 6:22-27 (NASB)

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them:

The Lord bless you, and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine on you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance on you,

And give you peace.’

So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.”

Devotional:

There are times in our lives when we are not so much as depressed but just down in the dumps.  For some reason you just feel blah.  Then someone walks by and gives you a huge bright smile.  You just can’t help but smile back.  The blues slip away with a smile.  Through that person God has blessed you.  In that moment His faced shined upon you.

In Numbers 6:22-27 God instructs Moses on what Aaron and his sons should tell the people, how to bless them.  Have you ever thought about how God wants you to speak to people? That these instructions are also meant for you.  We don’t have to state these very words, although we can.  However, God does use us to bless other people. 

Have you ever unexpectedly bought gas for someone you didn’t know, or buy the stranger near you lunch?  On a Christian radio station you hear them encouraging people to do something kind to others.  What they are asking you to do is to pay for the meal for the car behind you.  You would hear stories from both sides and how much of a blessing it was to them, regardless of being the giver or the recipient.  By giving with no strings attached you bless someone else.  You might be providing for a need.  You could be lifting someone’s spirits.  You ARE showing them Christ.

Today’s scripture is about God blessing His people.  We are His people and He wants to bless us.  Are we in a position to receive and accept His blessing?  I challenge you to go out of your way to reap a blessing on someone.  Not just a smile in passing, because that too is a blessing.  Pray for God to show you how He can use you to shower someone with a blessing.  When you do you will also be showered with blessings.  More importantly though you will be sharing Christ with them, even without words.  You will become His hands and feet.  It is time to plant seeds.  Let us do it together by blessing others…

Take Up Your Cross

Scripture:

Matthew 16:24-26 (ESV)

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

Devotional:

We are told to give our troubles and burdens to Jesus.  Through Christ we can manage through anything.  We are also told that God will not give us more than what we can handle.  All of this is true.  God will be with us no matter what.  In our troubles, trials, and tribulations we do in fact need to turn to Christ. 

However, too many times we think that by accepting Christ as our savior and trusting in Him will make all the bad go away.  Jesus becomes a magic genie in a bottle to push our troubles away.  But this is not the case.  Just because I accept Jesus in my heart tonight doesn’t mean it all goes away tomorrow.  Jesus is not a genie that magically makes it all go away.  In fact He even tells us to “…take up his cross and follow me” Matthew 16:24 ESV. 

Our troubles will not just disappear.  We still have to face them.  So how do we manage or get through them?  How long do we pay for our past mistakes?  How can we survive?  The simple answer and one often heard is to believe in Jesus.  We simply give it all to Him and trust in Him.  We read our Bibles and we pray.  But there are times when this just doesn’t seem to be enough.  So what do we do?  I wish I had all the answers but I struggle with this at times myself.  All I can say is that reading the Bible, praying, and trusting in Jesus is a must.  We can also bear one another’s burdens.  We can lift one another up and offer support and aid.  We can give encouragement and hold each other accountable.  Through our family, the body of Christ, we have experience, knowledge, and wisdom at our finger tips.  We just have to share it. 

I hear people say “I don’t need to go to church to be saved.”  I agree you don’t have to go to Church to have a good and strong relationship with God.  But look at what you are missing out on.  Look at what you are denying someone else what they need.  Going to church is more than fellowship, praising and worshiping.  It is the ultimate support group.  It is a family to share life with.  It is what God gave us to manage through the difficult times, and to share in the joyful ones.

Jesus doesn’t promise a carefree life of ease.  But He does promise that we are never alone.  He will see us through.  We just have to trust and go where He leads.  We have to persevere and sometimes that means we receive help from fellow Christians…

God's Best, or My Way

Scripture:

John 19:1-8 (NIV)

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. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Devotional:

Too many times it feels that God doesn’t hear my prayers.  During all the hardships and pitfalls it seems that my life is a train wreck at times.  I wonder how this fits in God’s plans to prosper me. 

Let me start by saying that I do not believe God causes the hardships in life or the bad things we go through.  I do believe that He will use them for our benefit.  Also I believe that my choices can get in the way of God’s plan.  It isn’t that I am mightier than God and He has to give in to what I want to do.  It isn’t that my will is more powerful than God’s will.  What it does mean is that God allows us to make our own choices.  He will step aside and let us make our own decisions.  When we decide to go outside His plan or will we miss out on His best for us.

The good news is that we can always change.  We can choose God’s plan over our own at anytime.  This doesn’t mean there will be a magic wand waved and all is well.  We do have to live with the consequences of our decisions.  Sometimes they are good and sometimes they are bad.  Sometimes it does take time.  My financial mistakes happened over time.  It will take time to fix the issue.  Don’t despair God is with you and He will help you through it.  We are never alone.  We will be given what we need to get through what life throws at us.  We will have what we need to survive our own mistakes.  Even in the worst of things God’s blessings can be found if we only look…