Tuesday's Talk

You've heard it said, and it is true, it is hard to carry a full cup. It is hard to be a Christian and have something going for you. Whether it be money, whether it be talent, whether it be skill of any kind, it is difficult because those strengths within our lives usually, because of our nature, engender pride within us. It is hard to carry a full cup.  We focus on what's in our cup.  What's in your cup today?

That is why throughout our spiritual walk we must become poor in spirit. The Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5 lays that out to us, and that is why, as you mature in the Christian life, you find that God often strips away from you the great strengths, the great values that you have, and He makes us weak.  In weakness He humbles us because then His strength is made perfect in our weakness.  That's a sermon for another day, but what we need to realise at the very outset of what the Lord is saying to us today is to beware of anything - no matter what it might be, it may be an intrinsic good thing or an evil thing - but whatever it is we must beware of anything that causes us to lose sight of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you do that in your Christian life, my friend, you will go far for Jesus - you will produce much fruit in the Kingdom. Beware of anything that would cause you to lose sight of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Where's your focus today?  Where's your treasure?  I guarantee you where your treasure is - there too is your focus!

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."  Matt 6:19

Extra

Lord, I thank You for what You've done, but I am desperate for what I know You can do! I'm taking my position squarely between the weeping post of repentance and intercession; and the dancing floor of rejoicing—move me from one to the other as it pleases You. Above all, let me see Your glory.

Have a great weekend!

Friday's Feature

"And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ."  (Philippians 1:9-10)



God of reality, make me real,
.......not an actor playing out his part - a hypocrite.

I don't want to keep a prayer list
.......but to pray,

I don't want to agonize to find Your will
.......but to obey what I already know,

I don't want to just count my blessings
......but to share the blessings with others.

I don't want to argue theories of inspiration
.......but to submit to Your Word.

I don't want to explain the difference between eros and philos and agape
.......but to love.

I don't want to sing as if I mean it
.......I want to mean it.

I don't want to tell it like it is
.......but to be like You want it.

I don't want to tell others how to do it
.......but to do it;

I don't want to have to be always right
.......but to admit it when I'm wrong.

I don't want to be an involved person, a professional
.......but a friend.

I don't want to be insensitive
.......but to hurt where other people hurt

Nor to say "I know how you feel"
.......but to say, "God knows"
.......and "I'll try if you'll be patient with me"
.......and meanwhile I'll be quiet.

I don't want to scorn the clichés of others
.......but to mean everything I say - including this.


Have a fantastic weekend!!

Thursday's Thought

Many thanks to my sweet friend, Alethia, for sharing the following with me.  It was so thought-provoking that I thought I would share it with the rest of you.

God's order may be observed in the hatching of eggs. For example: -the eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days; -those of the canary in 14 days; -those of the barnyard hen in 21 days;  -The eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days; -those of the mallard in 35 days;  -The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days.  (Notice, they are all divisible by seven, the number of days in a week!) The lives of each of you may be ordered by the Lord in a beautiful way for His glory, if you will only entrust Him with your life.  If you try to regu late your own life, it will only be a mess and a failure.  Only the One Who made the brain and the heart can successfully guide them to a profitable end. God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant..  The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction.  No other quadruped is so made.  God ordered that this animal would have a huge body, and for this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily.  The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first.  A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first.  How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation! God's wisdom is revealed in His arrangement of fruit, vegetable, and grain seed sections and segments, as well as in the number of seeds/grains.  -Each watermelon has an even number of stripes on the rind.  -Each orange has an even number of segments.  -Each ear of corn has an even number of rows.  -Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains.  -Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of bananas, and each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even number and the next row an odd number.  -The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather.  All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks, and the Lord specified thirty fold, sixty fold, and a hundredfold - all even numbers. God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain specified times during the day, so that Linnaeus, the great botanist, once said that if he had a conservatory containing the righ t kind of soil, moisture and temperature, he could tell the time of day or night by the flowers that were open and those that were closed! Thus the Lord in His wonderful grace can arrange the life that is entrusted to His care in such a way that it will carry out His purposes and plans, and will be fragrant with His presence.   Only the God-planned safe life is successful.  Only the life given over to the care of the Lord is fulfilled.       I HOPE YOU FIND THIS AS FASCINATING AS I DID.....WOW!!!!

Friday's Feature

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14)

My computer has a folder of Temporary Files. It's full of data that I needed at least once, but isn't currently necessary. I don't intentionally create those files; they seem to appear out of thin air, taking up space on my computer. Those who are computer savvy say that these files need to be deleted once in awhile, or they will slow down my computer. I've been told one rule of thumb says that if the date on those files isn't today's date, they can be safely erased.

I've got a similar folder inside my head. Unfortunately, the contents of this folder aren't as harmless as what's inside the Temporary Files in my computer. This folder contains a complete archive of bad things that have happened in the past, both things that I've done and things that have been done to me. I've got video, audio, and text, a whole multimedia display of negativity. When I least want them to, these things worm their way out of my past into my present.

I remember the times I embarrassed myself.
I remember the times that I hurt other people.
I remember my failures.
I remember my sins.
I remember the times I was mistreated.
I remember the ways that people hurt me, the things they said, the things they did.
I remember those times that other people let me down.
I remember .

None of that does me any good. Those things from the past only serve to slow things down, to spoil today with yesterday's hurts. Like those temporary files on my computer, what I really need to do is get rid of them.

We have to put our past in the past and focus on what's ahead. We have a God who is willing to forgive anything and everything that we've done, if we'll only let him. 

Have a great weekend, and don't forget to count your blessings!!

Thursday's Thought

Prov 3:5-6 (The Message)
Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
   don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
   he's the one who will keep you on track.

We need to learn to praise the Lord as much for a closed door as we do for an open door. The reason God closes doors is because He has not prepared anything over there for us.  If He didn't close the wrong door, we would never find the right door.

God directs our path through the closing and opening of doors.  Once a door closes, it forces you to change your course.  When another door closes, it forces you to change your course again.  Then, finally, you find the open door and you walk right into your blessing.

God directs our paths through the opening and closing of doors, but instead of praising Him for the closed door (which keeps us out of trouble); we get upset because we see with our natural eyes instead of our spiritual ones.  God sees the big picture - the wide angle lens view and the telescopic view all at once.

You have an ever-present help in the time of trouble that is always standing guard over you. Because He walks ahead of you, He can spot trouble down the road and set up a roadblock or detour accordingly.  But through our lack of wisdom, we try to tear down the roadblocks or push past the detour sign.  Then, the minute we get into trouble, we start crying, "God, how could You have done this to me? Where are you?"

We have got to realize that the closed door can be a blessing.  Didn't He say that no good thing would He withhold from them that love Him? (Psalm 84:11)

If you get terminated from your job, praise God for the new opportunities that will manifest themselves: it might be another job, it might be school.

If that man or woman won't return your call, it might not be them, it might be God setting up a roadblock (just let it go).

I recently read about a person who had a bank they had been in business with for many years tell them "No!" to a $10,000 loan. God put it in their spirit to call another bank. That bank gave them $40,000 at a lower interest rate than the first bank was offering.  Thank God for closed doors!

We can sometimes trap ourselves in doubt and discouragement through judging by appearances. Be grateful for the many times our Father has closed doors to us just to open them in the most unexpected places.  The Lord won't always say in spoken words: "Go to the left, now to the right" ...sometimes He will just close the doors that are wrong for you.

Wednesday's Word

1 Chron 28:2-3

² King David rose to his feet and said: "Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it. ³ But God said to me, 'You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.'

BUT God...
David had good plans - great plans even, and those plans were not to honor himself.  They were not plans to exalt him or who he was.  They were plans to build a place of rest for the ark of the covenant.  He made plans.  He had great intentions.  BUT God!  God said "No."  Not because David was bad or had ill intended plans - but because David's plans weren't God's plans.

Did you know Vincent Willem Van Gogh started out as a missionary!?  That's right.  He wanted nothing else but to preach the Word, so he went to Belgium and preached.  He won the hearts of the people there - worked right along side of them, and when disaster struck the village he was working in he worked that much harder - side by side, in the ditches, in the garbage piles ... digging for treasure ... fighting to stay alive.  BUT God!  An official of the organization he was with came and was mortified at how he lived.  He looked as poor and penniless as those he was ministering to, and the organization said it wasn't acceptable - that wasn't the kind of image
they wanted to present to the people - so they fired him.  Not knowing what to do - he wandered, and one day picked up a sketch book and pencil and began to sketch the people he saw.  He wasn't great at first, but he did become great.  His BUT God became a YET God for even though God's plans weren't his plans - yet God took him to a level of greatness he had probably never even considered.

So what's my message in all of this???  Don't become wayward, disheartened and angry when your plans and intentions become a BUT God moment!  Let God turn them into a YET God moment, and you will reap the benefits of being in the center of His plans!  Who knows!  Maybe you didn't plan BIG enough to suit God!  After all, He's a BIG God!!

Tuesday's Ticket

Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then shall I be blameless, and I shall be innocent and clear of great transgression. - Psalm 19: 13

When we choose to put ourselves out of God’s will, we are willfully sinning. We are willfully putting ourselves OUT of His safety and protection.

Our God is a jealous God. He wants NOTHING to be before Him. It will only hinder what He wants to do for us and in us. It will only keep us away from His presence. It will hinder the Holy Spirit from working in our lives.  Ref. Psalm 86:11, Ezek 11:19

Pride.

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall - Proverbs 16:18
We need to be very careful how highly we esteem ourselves. We are but dust. Sure, we should know who we are in Christ. However, we must NEVER forget WHOSE we are and without whom we would be NOTHING!

We also need to be careful how we look upon others. Do we judge? Do we look down on those who are not as spiritually “fit” as we THINK we are? Who are we to judge any man? God is judge and God ONLY. God knows ALL…NOT us. He knows the heart of man. We only know what we see. So, we better be VERY careful.

Ref. Proverbs 6:16-20, James 4:6-10, Luke 18:14

Fear.

He said, I heard the sound of You [walking] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. – Genesis 3:10

Many times we are afraid of God. We do not trust Him. Wounds from the past build mistrust in our lives for authority or towards God. We should never be afraid of God. He loves us like NO OTHER person EVER could. He wants nothing but the best for us and He longs for a close and personal relationship with us. We should come boldly before Him. He WANTS us to.

We should not be afraid of what He has planned for us either. Sure, it make take us out of our comfort zone. However, the path that Daddy God has for us will always be a better one than we can plot out! Seriously!

Ref. Genesis 26:24, Hebrews 4:16, Hebrews 10:35-39

Unforgiveness.

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive them and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in Heaven may also forgive you your own failings and shortcomings and let them drop. - Mark 11:25
This is a big one. We MUST forgive. NOTHING is too big to forgive and no one can tell me that there is. I have been through a lot in my life and have suffered horrible wrongs from a very early age. I know that no matter what though I am to forgive. What makes another’s sin greater than mine?

Jesus suffered on the same cross for me and the biggest sinner I can imagine. Who are we to presume that WE are better or should withhold forgiveness??  We must be very careful. God’s Word is clear. If we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven. Period.

Well, as you can see, there are areas in our lives that can hinder the holy spirit really working the way God wants to in our lives. We should take a spiritual inventory of our lives and get on track with the Lord so that we can live to our fullest potential in Him!

God is the ultimate parent. He wants to do nothing more than bless us. However, if we are living disobediently, He cannot bless us the way He wants to. We need to live obedient lives if we want the fullness of His promises and purpose for our lives.

Monday's Meditation

Ever been zapped with inspiration, only to find a disconnect in your experience? It doesn’t mean you heard wrong. It just means keep going.

Every so often, I’ll be grabbed by this headline. It must be one of those recyclable stories that the internet gurus keep in their database of ideas. A woman’ garage sale find is worth a million dollars… A 64 year old man buys a donut and the winning lotto ticket worth $1.7 million...

People like to hear about good luck. Especially the kind that is random.

If good fortune can land on anyone at anytime — then maybe one day, it can be my turn.

That was me as a little girl. I never got much mail, but there was always junk mail that nobody wanted.

Unbelievers! In my eyes, the envelopes stamped “Open Now” and “Urgent” in fake ink was a goldmine of sweepstakes to enter and win.

I’d open them up, check the boxes carefully and stick the gold stickers in the all the right places. Dropped them in the mail. And waited.

It took a few years worth of stamps, but I realized that it is very hard to be lucky. I grew up to live and work in the adult world and changed my strategy.

Girl, the world is your oyster. This is where you create your own opportunities and make sure it follows a plan.

Somehow, without being conscious of it, a strange hyrbrid of luck and self-effort quietly took seed in my journey of faith. In Christian circles, the words “gifting” and “purpose” can mess you up.

It seems all the people who know their gifting are always telling others to discover it. And the ones who don’t know what they’re called to are worried they can’t find it.

So, we figure we’ve missed the signs somehow. We look back with 20/20 hindsight and shackle ourselves with guilt and regret. We put together plans with the goal of reaching a destination called “Purpose”. Faith then becomes our Lady Luck and we hope she will get us “there”. Somewhere. Anywhere but here.

This can’t be further from the truth.

I’ve learned there is a gulf between the inspiration God gives us about His purpose — and the way it looks when we apply it to real life.

This gap doesn’t mean we’re off God’s radar.

This gap is where our faith operates.
Our purpose is found in navigating the everyday with that faith.

Do you ever catch a vision - just a little peek of who God wants you to be?

You might respond like I do and expect everything to start to line up with that flash of inspiration - immediately. In actuality, I think what God means to do through that peek, is simply give us a glimpse of who we are becoming.

Inspiration isn’t the goal, but an encouragement, to motivate us to keep trusting that He is at work.

God is saying,

I hear your heart’s desire. I’ve placed it there.
I’m at work in you.
Trust me.

So we do the hard work of faith, maneuvering through trials and joys, without being able to see how the dots will be connected.

God does have a plan for us, but He didn’t create us to obsess over it. His plan is not to be our main focus!

As people of faith, we can believe we are already living in it. No matter what it looks like.

God’s purpose is for us to experience this kind of freedom – when we believe His plan is at already work in us.

Living in this freedom affects the the way we live every day. It gives us the courage to do what gives us joy and peace, in whatever form it takes, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Gal 5:1

Do you see a disconnection between what you imagine life could be and what your life is now?

Don’t worry - God is cultivating a life of meaning, in the shape of your heart.

God will bring His plan for you to fruition — through an array of seemingly ordinary circumstances, to show just how extraordinary your faith is.

As you trust that God sees and treasures you, your life will take on a special quality, that no plan or luck can impart. You will develop the gleam of Jesus living in you. And you will no longer doubt what your purpose is.

“The Kingdom of God is like a farmer
who scatters seed on the ground.

Night and day,
while he’s asleep or awake,
the seed sprouts and grows,
but he does not understand how it happens.

All by itself the soil produces grain.”

~ Jesus, Mark 4:27-29

Friday's Feature

Praying the Names of God

Elohim,
I KNOW You can create something out of nothing, please create something out of all nothing areas - impossible situations in my life.

El Elyon,
I KNOW You are in control, sovereign, and I give You my circumstances today.

Adonai,
I KNOW You are my Lord and Master, I choose to follow You instead of the ways of the world.

El Shaddai,
I KNOW You are God Almighty, and I trust that You are sufficient for my deepest needs today.

Yahweh Jireh,
I KNOW You are my provider, and will supply everything I need today.

El Roi,
I KNOW You are the God who sees, and that I am never alone, and nothing in my life goes unnoticed, for You know it all and see it all.

Yahweh,
I KNOW You are the one and only, self-existent, eternal, covenant-keeping God and that You will always love me.

Yahweh Rophe,
I KNOW You are my healer and I come to You now with every area of me that needs healing today.

Yahweh Nissi,
I KNOW You are my banner, and the victory in every situation that threatens me today.

Yahweh Mekaddesh,
I KNOW You are my sanctifier, making me holy, doing for me what I can never do for myself.

Yahweh Shalom,
I KNOW You are my peace, and bring calm in every storm I face in life.

Yahweh Sabaoth,
I KNOW You are the LORD of hosts, and bring deliverance as You defeat my enemies.

Yahweh Ro’i,
I KNOW You are my shepherd, and intimately care for me even if no one else does.

Abba, Father,
I KNOW You are my Father and that I can run to You and rest in the security of your everlasting arms.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Thursday's Thoughts

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of
the weak." Isaiah 40:29

Are you weary today? It's easy to find ourselves there in

today's world, isn't it? If you're thinking, "well, I don't know

about 'weary' ... what is weary anyway?" Take a look at some

of the synonyms for weary:

all in, beat*, bone-tired, bored, burned out,bushed, dead tired,

discontented,disgusted, dogtired, done in, drained, drooping,

drowsy, enervated, exhausted, fagged, fatigued,fed up, flagging, had it, impatient, indifferent,jaded, knocked out,

out of gas, overworked,pooped, punchy, ready to drop, sick, sick

and tired, sleepy, spent*, taxed, wearied, wearing,wiped out, worn

out, zonked

Does that sound like how you feel? So how do we recoup? Easy -

rest in Him - rest in His power. We need to quit trying to do

'everything' in our own power.

Power. That's a word I don't often think about. I watch Bailey

and George play all sorts of video games based on power (who has the
most, who exerts the most, who's the victor.) But I seem to
ignore it, or at least take it for granted much of the time. It's

only when there is the lack of power - that I really take notice

of it or appreciate it.

The "power" that's in us as believers is "the same power God
exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead" It is
"like the working of His mighty strength." (Eph 1:17-23)

What situation are you in today that requires some power?
Who or what are you praying for that needs victory? Guess
what? YOU, yes YOU have the Power in you already! It's

the power of God's almighty strength and
His desire to make you victorious! Let's don't ignore the
Power source, acting like we don't have one. Let's access
it, use it and enjoy the victory!

Reminds me of the old red book hymn that says, "...There is

power! Power! Wonder-working power in the precious blood of the
Lamb!"

Monday's Meditation

"Nevertheless not as I will..." Matthew 26:39

I have become more aware lately that I need to get on some sort of regular exercise (fitness) program- so I've started back walking in the mornings. I don't mind walking, but I HATE getting sweaty and nasty. I have several exercise machines in my FROG (finished room over garage), but it's hot over there - especially now in the dead of summer - which means I'm going to sweat double time if I work out over there! Yuck!

I see a spiritual parallel in this. We all want the blessings, the promises, the benefits and rewards, as well as the good things of God to come our way, but we aren't willing to do what it takes in order to receive them. And even if we are willing, we usually want it on our terms. How often has God spoken something to you that would be a benefit, or even an answer to prayer, but He didn't do it the way you thought He should -or rather, the way you wanted it. We want the blessings, but we want them the way we want them, when we want them, and how we want them... like I said, "our way." We want them but not at the expense of having to get out of our comfort zones, not at the risk of causing us to have to make some sort of sacrifice, not if it goes against our plans. For example, I want God to talk to me, I need Him to talk to me, but I don't want Him to wake me up at 3:00 in the morning to do it. I'd rather have Him do it a little later in the morning. (This is wanting it my way.)

I want the benefit that I could gain from exercising on that equipment, but I want to do it in a nice cool environment. Since I don't want to do it in such a place, I can't always find another time that would be better; so I don't do it at all- therefore, I miss the benefit that it would be to my life. If you try to deal with God on your own terms, you will never reap the benefits and blessings that He has for you. You have to do it "HIS WAY"... on His terms.

Simply Saturday

Do you ever feel like your prayers go nowhere? - they just

bounce off the ceiling and hit you in the head? Do you go
through times when you talk to God, but you don't hear Him
talking back? Do you wonder where He is? Are you like me,

and find yourself crying out "Where are you, God?"

Sure, God takes us through "seasons" as He's growing us
up in Him. There are the mountaintop experiences where we
see exciting things happening and "feel" wonderful emotions

- you know those seasons of "dancing with all your might"

before the Lord. There are also the valley times where we're

eating and growing but it's not all that exciting. Then there are the
rock-climbing seasons that are just plain hard. When I sense
God's silence, I ask Him to show me which season I'm in.
Sometimes there's nothing wrong, He may just be graduating
me into a new season.

There are other things to check however. Isaiah 59:1-2
says, "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to
save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities
have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden
His face from you, so that He will not hear." WOW! My own
sins will block God from hearing? Yep.

Take a moment to evaluate your prayer time. Does it mostly
consist of requests? Are you just bringing your shopping

cart to the heavenly super store? Always be sure to include

a time of confession and repentance before you begin your list of
petitions. And as we mature in the Lord, we learn to be sensitive

to the Holy Spirit so we confess and repent right away as

He convicts us of our sins.

Having un-forgiveness toward anyone, as well as any other
un-confessed sin will definitely prevent God from hearing
our prayers. Husbands also must treat their wives properly
so their prayers won't be hindered (1 Peter 3:7).

So... the next time you don't "feel" God as near as you'd like, run
through this checklist. The real question may not be, "God,
where are You? But rather "God, where am I?"

Thursday's Thoughts

Matthew 10:37-29

³⁷"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

"Follow me." It's not often that I really think about that phrase, but it just kind of "dummy smacked" me this morning. Bear with me a minute, and look at the definition of "follow" - to go or come after; move behind in the same direction; to accept as a guide or leader; accept the authority of or give allegiance to: to imitate or copy.

With that being said - take a look inward - are you following Jesus? Or maybe you're like my little mini-dachshund, Buddy, who loves me with a passion, but has a real problem "following". Yesterday I let him ride with me to take our youngest to school because he just is overcome with joy when I do (although I can't say our son is thrilled about the traveling partner). So out the front door we go - with Buddy in tow ... or at least it's supposed to be that way. Regardless of how much I yell "heel" or "wait" or "follow me" or "walk with me" that little dog is so sure he knows right where I am going that he takes off like a bullet out of a gun as soon as we get outside. Of course he has no clue that I'm going to my Mother's van that is parked under the trees so he just runs helter-skelter all over the place, and we end up having to retrieve him before we can get going.

Follow. That's not a bad thing. It doesn't mean we are subservient - it means we've relinquished the authority to lead to someone else - and in order to do that it means we've trusted that person to lead us in the right direction.

Don't run ahead - trust Jesus to lead you, and you follow. Hmmmm. made me stop and think. How about you???

Wednesday's Word

"My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him." Psalm 62:5

Living every day sometimes feels like wandering inside a maze looking for the way out to me. Not knowing whether we should turn right or left at the junction, we choose to depend on our instincts. If we're lucky enough, we'll find a promising path and if not, dead ends are unavoidable.

Now as a Christian, I often think shouldn't we get a better life than that? I mean, we have a BIG God after all thus I demand a better life.

To get through a maze, there's a method called "The left-hand method". Simply place your left-hand on the left-hand wall upon entering the maze and follow that wall all the way around. The principle is to never remove your hand from the wall.

Lets carefully observe how we live our lives till this moment. The left-hand method would not work if we let go of the left-hand wall. It requires us to stick to the left-hand wall no matter how long we have to walk around and the number of cul-de-sacs we find on the way. The same principle goes for our lives. We ought to hold on to Him no matter how long we have to wait and the number of obstacles we have to face.

If after a few cul-de-sacs, one decided to let go of the left-hand wall then one may get lost in the maze. If we don't wait patiently while following the wall all around, then we might let go and trapped forever inside the maze. (That thought makes me shudder!) But then if one thought the other path was more promising than following the left-hand wall, he/she might be up for a wild goose chase.

The truth is we do have a better life than those who get lost and trapped inside the maze. God is our left-hand wall, the only way to the exit. Wait patiently, hold fast to your confession of faith. Fight for your faith in Him no matter what!

Mark 4:35-41 NIV ³⁵That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." ³⁶Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

³⁹He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

⁴⁰He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

Every person reading this is in one of three places. You are either in a storm, coming out of a storm, or about to enter a storm. Storms are just as much a fact of life as are death and taxes. By the way, storms do not respect people. They befall the rich and the poor, the young and the old and any other category in between. Storms are simply a part of life.

Not too long ago an American (Ken Barnes), safely headed toward land after three days adrift, said a driving storm off the tip of South America snapped his masts and rolled his yacht, shattering his dream to make a nonstop, round-the-world voyage. "I lost my boat, but I preserved my life," Ken Barnes told a group of reporters in a radio conversation from the fishing vessel that rescued him.

Often we survive the storm, but the injuries stay with us for a while. The storms of life frequently come without warning:

o A phone rings and a doctor asks, “Could you come to my office. . . now?”

o A letter in the mail. . .

o A knock on the door. . .

o A phone call. . .

o A severe look from the boss. . .

o A clearing of the throat followed by the words, “We need to talk. . .”

Storms can approach in velvet slippers with silent footfalls but in the end thunder roars from the steps of the storm.

Many people want the great calm without the storm. But the great calm cannot be fully appreciated until the storm has torn us apart.

I want an anointing but no storms.

I want a prayer life but no storms.

I want a great life but no storms.

I want to know the Book but no storms.

I want to win souls but no storms.

This sometimes is the prevailing pattern of life in where there are great successes that there are also great afflictions: Pentecost is followed by persecution - Peter's sermon is followed by imprisonment - The disciples experienced the greatest calm and it is followed with the overwhelming tempest.

May I tell you that just in case you thought it might happen, it will not happen in a million years? What you need is gut-wrenching, nerve-twisting, sleep-stealing storms.

If you want the sun to stand still, you have to be in a fight.

If you want the water to be sweet, you have to taste the bitter water first.

If you want manna, you have to get hungry.

If you want fire to fall from heaven, you have to be surrounded by doubt and unbelief.

If you want the birds to feed you, you have to be on the run

If you want the axe-head to float in the water, it has to be lost in the pond.

Storms:

• will give you an opportunity to grow.
• will draw you to another world.
• will bring you to your knees.

Storms will come ... but in the midst of the storm, there is a Savior who will let His peace prevail!!

Monday's Meditation

1 Kings 13: 1-31

There is an important message in this story. God gave a direct word to the man He sent to Bethel, not to eat or drink in that town. The first challenge to his orders was from the King, when he asked the man of God to come back to eat and drink with him in his house - (after he prayed for his hand to be restored). The man of God didn't budge. However, when an old prophet heard of the man of God, he went to him and challenged him by saying that he too was a prophet, and an ‘angel’ told him to bring him back to eat and drink with him, (v18). It was a lie.

Why did the old prophet lie to him? Did God send the old prophet to him in order to test him? It reminded me of the serpent tempting Eve saying, “Did God really say…” Has this little question ever crossed your mind? It can sow seeds of doubt and confusion in our minds. We may even begin to wonder if we heard right, or if God had changed His mind.

If the Lord speaks something to us, no matter who comes to challenge the word that was spoken, we need to obey what God has said. It doesn’t matter how well respected or spiritual the person is, we need to stay true to what God has spoken to us, otherwise we suffer the consequences.

There will be temptation to go along with what another might say. Their talk and reasoning sounds so good. But beware! We must remember what God has spoken to us and be found faithful and true, obedient to God alone.