Enjoy Today's Victories!

My "to do" list is 2 slots shorter for the moment. It feels good to get some things marked off before a dozen try to fill the slots. For perspective, the things still on my list scream "what about me" pushing to get their turn and have the potential to steal the feeling of accomplishment for getting some big things checked off. I believe we experience the same kinds of feelings when we get some really big answers to prayer. We enjoy the answers for a short time only to begin focusing on "what's let to pray about". Philippians 4:8 says we are to control what we think about. It says "think on things that are good, honest, right, pure, lovely and a good report". Colossians 3 says to "think on things above not only on things below". II Corinthians 10 says to "take your thoughts captive" meaning don't just see the glass half empty, make sure you see the glass half full too. There is a natural "tendency" to see things that need to be done instead of the things that have already been done for many people. For those people they spend more time stressing about the "to do list" than rejoicing over their "just got done list". A wise saying is "make sure to enjoy every single victory". A victory may mean getting something checked off the to do list, losing a few pounds on your diet, learning a new Bible verse, being more attentive to your spouse and kids, going all day without losing your temper, etc. I just remind us all to make sure to enjoy the pleasant moments; don't loose the value of things accomolished because of things waiting to have their turn.

Completion

It's nice to set a goal and keep working until it is complete. If the goal is significant, you will be tempted to quit a number of different times before it is completed whether it is losing weight, adding on to your home or reading the Bible in a year (or a million other things.) A key to accomplishing your goal is to be realistic in setting your completion date and being honest about your ability to pull it off. Losing 20 pounds in a month is not going to happen. Adding a room or building a deck on your home can only be as good as the person who builds it has skill. If you have never done anything like that, know going in to it "this is never going to be perfect". There will be obvious flaws but I am not going to keep focusing on the flaws at least, YOU WILL HAVE A DECK or whatever your project is. If you continually criticize your work, you won't enjoy doing it and you won't enjoy the end result. If you will be honest and begin the project with realistic expectations, the whole thing can be rewarding and enjoyable. Philippians 1:6 says "He who began working on you (God) will keep at it until you die"; in other words God is not going to have a "perfect you" until you get to Heaven so relax and enjoy the life He has given you to live, knowing you are never going to be perfect while you are here on earth. If God can enjoy you without your perfection the least we can do is join Him in accepting the truth, He is going to keep working on us and encouraging us to not give up until we see Him face to face!

Are you liviing on fumes?

I have had a great 3 or 4 months with the Lord. I don't know what changed, I just have begun to sense His presence more in everyday things and it has been wonderful. I wish there was a way to guarantee these times but the truth is there is not. Anyone who tells you there is does not tell the complete truth. Sure God never leaves us, maybe I am just expressing what I am feeling in a poor way but what I am trying to say is "something has gotten better, significantly better" and it would be nice to never loose "this feeling". The truth is everyone goes through times of wilderness, some of these times last for years (study Moses' life, Joseph's life, King David's life, Apostle Paul's life). I want to remind us that just because we may be walking in the wilderness does not mean we are out of God's will. There certainly are times when we put ourselves in the wilderness because of disobedience or stubbornness, but the enemy tries to convince us that if you are in the wilderness, it is always your fault. Again, if we know the Bible we know that Jesus was specifically led into the wilderness by the Spirit of God (Matthew 4:1). The best thing we can do in our walk with God is prepare the same way whether we are in "good times" or the "tough times". This process requires discipline. It means we will not let our emotions control us or dictate our actions. I hope your are enjoying a time of "blessing with God", if you are enjoy it. If you feel like you are on the back side of the desert, forgotten by God hold on, likely God is preparing you for the project He has been preparing to lead you in to. When He does come and get you, you will probably resist His prompting to go forward (just like Moses did) because what He has been planning for you will blow your mind. You are not forgotten and you will not continue without being used in His great plan!

Are you Happy?

What does it take to make you happy? If you are happy, how long have you been? If you are not happy, how long has it been since you were? Do you believe that if you were somewhere else you would be happy? Are you buying in to the lie that "if only things were different" you would be happy? More money? Different spouse? Different Job? Everything that could be had was had by a man who lived before us. His name was Solomon. He literally had people from all over the world coming to see what he had created and how rich he was. At the end of his life he said "nothing on this earth can make me happy; All I have worked for my entire life just brings me emptiness." If Solomon could say that having owned everything he did, still left him with an empty feeling, I challenge you to make a decision to put your trust in God, believe His word that says in His presence is the fullness of joy and at His right hand are pleasures forever. The Bible says if we meditate on God's Word and do what it says, we will be successful and full of joy! (Joshua 1:8) Don't think that there is always something else you need before you can be happy. God is more than enough in everything we dream about. If what you are dreaming about making you happy does not have God at the top of the list, you will never be truly happy. Happiness with contentment is great gain, the Apostle Paul said. Make it a part of your daily plan, living God's Word and discover what true happiness really is!

Comparisons

Comparisons can produce a lot of bad things. Notice we usually stay off balance with them. If you are prone to success, you compare your successes with others but if you are a negative person, you compare yourself and find a way to see "others as better than you". The only comparison that is good for a Christian is to use the Word of God as the "norm'. It never changes and even though parts of it are over 4,000 years old it is still timely and relevant for today. God has a different plan for every human. Only He knows how and when it will work out; the best way to walk in His peace is to trust His will for your life and not allow human logic or intellect to "measure up" at any given moment. Things can literally change in one second. If a person is being diagnosed for a cough and the doctor says I have bad news, you have cancer and in 3 months your life will be over. I recently heard of a woman who had a minor cough and was dead in 3 weeks because of a fast growing disease. She was not aware of her decline in health because she was very active. The owner of a small company gets a call from the "big company" with an amazing offer to buy them out and becomes a millionaire many times over. Ask God to lead you on a daily basis. Read His word and capture your thoughts. If they do not line up with what He says about you DO NOT LET THE THOUGHT REMAIN! Wash your mind with God's promises of grace and a future full of hope and provision. You may not get everything you are hoping for but you will walk in His peace if you capture the comparisons that lead to prideful thinking or defeated lifestyle. If God is for us who can be against us!

Gone

More than half of 2011 is gone. Have you accomplished what you imagined you would in the first half of this year. If you have, congratulations, if you have not, what are you going to do to catch up and finish the year with goals met. One of the reasons things are not complete is because there is not a plan to follow. Sure there are unexpected things that pop up but truth is, that must be a part of every plan. In other words, we need to save time for unexpected interruptions. A Scripture that gives us guidance is Habakkuk 2:2. It says, "Write out your plans. Make them plain so that everyone who reads them will know exactly what they are. Even though they take longer than expected to come to pass, they will." Do you have a plan? Is it written? Do others know what it is? Do they understand it? We all know breaking one of the 10 commandments is bad. So is not obeying this command in Habakkuk! Don't keep trying to take shortcuts, they never work out for good. If it seems they do, they produce an attitude that we don't have to play by the rules like everyone else does. Before July is gone, I urge you to take this seriously; get your plans written out and understandable. We have not guarantees about tomorrow, work while there is still time. Make it easy for people to help you accomplish God's goals for you.

Reality?

Today there are television programs that portray "reality" in some very unflattering situations. Strangers getting engaged to each other through an elimination process based on "what you can give me" instead of what I will commit to this relationship. People who are horrible at singing, dancing and acting making fools of themselves on national TV just for a few seconds of fame (even if the fame makes them look terrible) and seemingly an endless line of desperate people looking for fulfillment. The world of politics has become so bitter that unless you can come up with catchy sound bites and "gotcha" headlines you can't succeed; that progress seems impossible. The answer to today's problems is found in the same place it always has been, in Jesus Christ. If you are not spending more time in God's presence than under the world's influence you are never going to find hope and peace. I encourage us all to seek the Lord in spite of what is happening around us. Speak life to those you are around and remind them that this is not our home. We can find temporary happiness here on earth but we are never supposed to find our final answers here. King David said it this way in Psalm 19:14 "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight O Lord my strength and Redeemer." Psalm 16:11 says "In your presence is fullness of joy and at your right hand are pleasures forever." Make sure you stay focused on the only one who can give you hope and confidence to go forward and experience true reality!