Positive or Negative

How many things have gone exactly right for you today? Let me use an example to make a point. Do you know what size a blood clot is that causes stokes; not in every case but for many cases, the clot is the size of a head on a pin. How many times have you heard a sound today? How many images have your eyes processed in the last 10 minutes? How many times have you walked across a room and not lost your balance? I could go on but hopefully you get the point. We take a million things for granted while we are complaining about the few things that are not going our way. If we would take time to think about how God keeps the whole universe in perfect order it would be difficult for us to criticize what we don't enjoy at the moment. I challenge you to guard your thoughts for the next month. See how many things that come out of your mouth are positive and how many are negative. Make sure you thank God for all the things that you receive and NEVER thank Him for. You are breathing while reading this but not once have you had to tell your self to do it. You have blinked your eyes over 100 times since you began reading this, without thinking about it. Things really are going very well everyday, we just need to focus on what we usually take for granted; I promise it will affect your attitude. Psalm 150 says "let everything that has breath Praise the Lord, Praise YOU the Lord!

God is always God

I was attending a Pastor's prayer time yesterday morning. There were 15 Pastors from 8 different denominations. After almost an hour praying for "Revival" in Northeast Louisiana; we realized regardless whether revival comes to our area, He still loves us and He is still worthy of Praise. For the next 20 minutes all the pastors began praising God in song, shouting of His faithfulness and repenting for our complaining when we do not get "what we want when we want it." Do you ever act like a spoiled child when your prayers are not answered. Do you ever feel you have the power to "call God on the carpet" because He did not do what you "asked"? We are supposed to honor God with praise everyday. The psalmist said "let everything that has breath, Praise the LORD! If you never get another prayer answered as long as you live, God is still worthy of Praise. If we do not see change in situations that are painful, God is still worthy of Praise. If we never see anyone healed, ever, God is still worthy of Praise. I encourage you to do what we Pastors did yesterday, begin Praising God now and never quit. Praise Him with your whole heart and whether you feel any different or not at least you will have honored Him who is worthy of honor. All we Christians do is supposed to be done in faith. The smartest and most faithful thing you can ever do is Praise the one who gives you life!

Father's Day

Romans 8 says we have the privilege of calling God our Daddy! Not everyone has the blessing of having a good dad. There is no such thing as a perfect earthly dad which means every dad has hurt their own children. Sometimes the hurt occurs not knowing what to do or what is expected, sometimes it occurs because a dad is just having a bad day and ultimately because everyone has weaknesses. In order to help us "get over our hurt" our Heavenly Father has become the "perfect daddy" to everyone who is willing to be adopted by Him. We all have a choice; accept or reject Him and His love. The enemy to God is the devil. He rejected God and now wants everyone to reject God too. Everyone makes choices everyday, hundreds or even thousands of choices. I ask that you honor your Heavenly Father not just tomorrow but everyday and while you are at it make sure and thank Him for giving you your earthly Father. If he has hurt you intentionally or not, forgive him and honor him for giving you life. If you are a male you may well walk on the other side of the fence as an earthly dad yourself someday and understand that being a dad is not an easy job especially when you fail sometimes not even knowing how you did wrong. And dads if you have hurt your kids "man up" apologize to them and follow the example of your Heavenly Father and love them the same when they are good and when they are not. If your Heavenly Father can do that for you, surely you can do that for the flesh and blood you help create.

Hang On

I am still amazed at how fast time is going. I blaze through weeks like they are minutes. My "to do list" is not getting smaller. I look at "what I will get done this week" and cannot imagine what things will look like a year from now. My list grows daily and while I do get somethings checked of the list, two take it's place. In the midst of racing time, I remind myself (and you) to listen to the still small voice inside. God will seldom if ever shout at us. If we do not wait in His presence and shove other thoughts out of our focus we will live our lives tending to "to do lists" and missing the most fulfilling relationship we can ever have. Even taking time regularly to "listen for God's direction" we still can go weeks without "feeling" like we heard from Him. God gave us a "conscious" to help us navigate life. This must be refined by His Word. Don't rely on anything that is not "sanctified" (set apart for Him) because we get tainted daily with our own desires, corruption and counterfeits that compete for time and attention.
Set a regular time to sit with the Lord. Begin by thanking Him for loving you and being faithful to you, even if you can't see evidence. Worship Him in song and praise. Ask Him for guidance and wisdom about what He wants you to do and finally give Him your burdens and ask Him to involve Himself in your issues. We are like a vapor on this earth, here today and gone shortly. Make sure your life and legacy count. Focus on God and your family; then friends and job. Our lives will end one day, make sure you will look back over it and be glad you left some things undone on your "to do list" but used all the direction He provided you on a daily basis. Nothing can compete with a life that is filled with "God moments"; make time for one right now!

Prayer Works

Want to have every prayer answered? I am going to give you the key to have that occur. I John 5:14-15 "NOW THIS IS THE CONFIDENCE WE HAVE IN HIM, THAT IF WE ASK ANYTHING ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, HE HEARS US. AND IF WE KNOW THAT HE HEARS US, WHATEVER WE ASK, WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE THE PETITIONS THAT WE HAVE ASKED OF HIM." The key is to find out what His will is before we pray. I have to remind myself that His will is better than my will. My mind battles with God's timing, God's methods, God's concern. Is that as amazing to you as it is to me? God who spoke and the entire universe came into being without lifting a finger would ever need to explain anything to me. God spoke to Job in chapter 38, and ask him if he (Job) could answer any of God's questions about where the foundations of the earth were and what they were attached to. The Lord's prayer is a guide that is useful in learning to pray.
Our Father who art in Heaven hallowed be Thy Name -- begin your prayer time with worship
Your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven -- His will not ours
Give us this day our daily bread -- present your daily petitions to Him
Forgive us our debts as we forgive others - repentance
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil -- Follow His leadership
Yours is the kingdom and glory -- end prayer with worship

God is for us not against us, trust Him with all of your heart and watch as He proves to be right every time!

Enjoy Today

Everybody is running day and night. Schedules do not let up. You must schedule EVERYDAY TIME TO ENJOY GOD AND FAMILY! Make time to read your Bible for enjoyment. Bible reading should not be some duty that you dread, it should be the sweetest few moments in your day. If it is not, you are allowing an enemy to steal from you. The Bible says if you knew what time a thief was coming to your house you would prepare and be waiting for him. I am reminding you that if you are not spending 15 minutes or so everyday with the Lord, not just telling Him what you want Him to do but listening to the thoughts He brings to your mind, you are being robbed just as surely as a thief coming and taking your valuables from your home. Don't get caught thinking that a few more dollars or a cleaner house or a another errand will give you lasting satisfaction, you know it won't BUT turning off the noise and listening to your heart (what God speaks to your spirit) will in fact give you wisdom, strength and freedom to do everything else your day requires. Joshua 1:8 says when we take time to think about God's Word it equips us to be successful in every area of life. If you need a way to get a handle on your time, I urge you to begin your day in God's Word and then it says "you will be successful in all your activites."

Where does Time Go?

I cannot believe today is the first day of June. In my daily Bible reading I came across a scripture that spoke to me 6 or 7 years ago and honestly was one of the "loudest verses" I have ever heard. I was in an early morning prayer meeting (I am not an early morning person); we were beginning our time of prayer with a short reading from Psalms 118. When we came to verse 17 it says "I will live and not die to declare the works of the Lord." It was in one of those moments when you are wondering "Am I in God's will doing what I am doing and where He wants me doing it"; some people will not admit they face those questions but just because they don't admit it does not mean they don't think them. I KNEW THAT I KNEW THAT GOD WAS SPEAKING TO ME. I thanked God that He would make His word come alive to me; it has been one of my "life verses" ever since. A life verse speaks to you at a particular time and because you KNOW that it was God encouraging you, it brings life to you every time you hear it. Don't let time keep flying by without making the first things first. This does not mean that "first things" will always be fun but don't stop doing them first. Have a time everyday that you spend a few minutes with your bible, reading and thinking about what it says to you. Don't expect that everyday you will "feel better" just because you read. I promise if you don't read after a period of time you will feel worse and you may not even know that you do. Time does not stop neither does revelation from the Word of God!