Lost??? Then I am speaking to you....

Have You Ever Been Lost? It’s a simple question that I am sure we can all say yes to. Whether we were kids or even as adults, sometimes, we all loose are way.

• What was it like when you are lost?
• Did you know right away that you were lost?
• How do you think you got lost in the first place?

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.”

Ironically though, to be found, you must admit you are lost. But, how many of us know we are lost when we are actually lost? Do we realized it right away? Most of the time, we have no idea that we are lost until a few hours of passed and we realize we aren’t on the right path. We are like confused sheep!

Matthew 9:36 says “When He (Jesus)  looked out over the crowds, His heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. ”

Lost sheep just wander around aimlessly looking for food or a place to lie down. Sound familiar? Do you ever feel like this when you go through your day to day lives? I think we all have those moments. Even as believers, we are not exempt for crises. Sometimes, our crises get so big that they cause us to just wander around, looking for our shepherd.

Psalm 119:176 says “I have wandered away like a lost sheep; come and find me, for I have not forgotten your commands.”

And do you know what is beautiful? Jesus will come looking for us. He loves us that much.

Luke 15:4-7 “4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

If you are feeling lost today..then run to him. Open up your Bible, open up your heart and seek him out!! He will find you.

• What is keeping you from admitting you are lost?
• Why do you feel the need to keep wandering around aimlessly?
• What is it going to take for God to get your attention so you realize just how much he loves you?

Matthew 7:7 says “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

There it is, in black and white…straight from God’s word. He cares about you. You are valuable to him. You may be lost, but it won’t last forever. Cry out to him and he will find you…he knows where you are even if you don’t.

Dear Lord. Sometimes, we feel that we are lost…like sheep looking for our shepherd. LORD, help us found our way back to you. We cry out to you LORD, help us see your path. You are a wonderful and mighty GOD who loves us more than we realize. Thank you LORD, for being our shepherd. Thank you for helping us find our way! AMEN!

How to Triumph over Worry!

“So it has started out to be another bad day. Mouse isn't working right. Bike isn't running right. Jeep is making a new strange sound. Important email sent yesterday didn't go out till today because our system isn't working right. At least I get to go to Kansas tomorrow and get out of this office for a couple of days.” ~My husband…

My husband feels he needs to “get away” for the “problems of life” to stop. However, what he hasn’t realized yet is that when he comes back, those things and issues will still be there. 

The worries of life are always surrounding us!!!

My take on stuff that happens? “Might not be what I would choose but this is the stuff You use” ~This is the Stuff, Francesca Battistelli

Stuff happens. But, it’s also an opportunity to say “Ok God, it’s all yours….”

· Don’t Worry about details beyond your control: Gn 7:16 “the animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as GOD had commanded noah. Then the Lord shut him in”

o What does this have to do with worry? God took care of the details of this job while Noah was doing his part in obeying. Let God worry about the details…you just do your job and obey and do what he tells you to do!

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Worry can cause us to forfeit peace with God: Gn 21:7 “And she added, ‘Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet, I have born him a son in his old age.’ “

o Because of her doubt, worry and fear over many, many years and multiple promises and instances of reassurance from God, Sarah had forfeited the peace she could have felt in God’s wonderful promise to her. When you focus on God’s promises, he can bring peace to a troubled heart.

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Worry can also reveal a lack of faith in God’s control: Ps 37:8,9 “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.”

o Anger and worry are two of the most destructive emotions that we an feel. When we consume ourselves with these feelings, they take us farther and farther away from God. These feelings place the responsibility of the solution and all the control into our hands, rather than God’s hands. It’s almost like we are telling God “No thank you, I can handle this…I want to deal with it my own way because your way isn’t satisfying or fast enough”. When you dwell on your problems, you become anxious and angry..but when you let God deal with them, amazing things can happen! Don’t block your blessings…allow God to deal with things…he has had more experience in it than you have and he knows what to do!!

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The Holy Spirit can help us stop worrying: Mt 10:19, 20 “But when they arrest you, DO NOT WORRY about what to say or how to say it. At that time, you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you”

o Jesus told the disciples not to worry when they were speaking the gospel. He knew they would get arrested but he also knew about the Holy Spirit. He knew that God would speak through them for their defense. When we fill ourselves with worry, we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to work. Don’t block the Holy Spirit, he is a gift from God to you and can and will help you if you allow it.

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Turn your worries into prayers Phil 4:6,7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and with petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God , which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and you minds in Christ Jesus.”

o God knows we worry. He understands our emotions. He asks us to take them to him. Lay them at his feet. Allow him to give you the strength and discernment you need to do what needs to be done. To worry less means to pray more.

Let’s face it, life happens. Sometimes you will have days where you wish you could just go back to bed. BUT the fact is, God did not make us to be quitters. Open up your Bibles and read Ephesians 6:10-20.

What did these verses say to you?

Did they say that life won’t happen?

Did they say that we need to hide our heads in the sand?

No, they tell us how to go through life, every single day. They tell us that God understands that we have events that happen in our lives that can be too much. These verses tell us that God cares for us and he provides us the tools we need to wake up each day and face the world head on.

Pray to God. He can lift your worries…search out his word, get to know him through what you read in the Bible…ask him to come into your heart and clean out the troubles and anxieties in life and ask him to fill you with his strength!

Hope for Sunday.....

Psalm 71:5 "But you have been my hope, O sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth". In 1 Samuel 17:1-58, we are introduced to David, a young shepherd boy. He was just a boy, a young guy. He was sent by his father, to bring food to his brothers in the army who were at war. Every one looked down upon him because he was just a shepherd boy. Even his brothers spoke down to him. ....

If people who know us the best, discourage us the most, we have few chances of developing confidence.

 
David moved on to killing and defeating Goliath... the one man even the armies of Israel were afraid to battle.........Many people "Heard" God's word, including David's family......but David BELIEVED God's word.

 

 God's word tells us we are LOVED, GIFTED AND BLESSED. Phil 4:13 shows us that we can do anything through God that strengthens us. People will always be people...just as David's brothers talked down to David and the Pharisees and the Sadducee talked down to Jesus, people in our lives will talk down to us. BUT GOD IS ON OUR SIDE.



We can have courage in the face of those that want to bring us down. We can face them with the confidence and the strength of the Holy Spirit inside of us!!! YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!! You are fearfully and wonderfully made and are a child of God and you are deeply and truly loved.

Cleaning the Trash

Luke 11:39 NLT

“Then the Lord said to him, "You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are still filthy -- full of greed and wickedness!”

I watched someone clean their trash the other day. They rinsed everything off and even washed some of the things before they through them in the trash can. I asked why they felt the need to do this, afterall, we do live in the desert and for all I knew, maybe they were afraid of ants or other bugs who like trash. But, the answer I received was something that I didn’t expect. The reply was “Because the trash is dirty and I need to make it clean when I throw it away.”

It got me thinking about how so many times, before I became a Christian, I would try and “clean my trash” before I threw it away, placing the blame on other people for the problems and events that had taken place, finding other people who would support my actions and make it seem like the choices I were making were ok. But, the truth is, my trash was trash.. no matter how much I tried to clean it, it still ended up in the same place: The garbage can.

Hebrews 10:22 says “let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”

When I became a Christian, God took all the trash, threw it away and filled me with the Holy Spirit. I do my best not to allow the trash to get back in, but there are times it does. But now, when God cleans me, the trash disappears. He makes me whole and he fills me with comfort and peace and all sorts of amazing things. We have all been made clean through the blood of Christ!!! There is no trash to dirty for God to cleanse. We can face the world with our heads held high, knowing that we are one with Christ!!!

The Armor of God, Day 1....

 10           Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11        Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12     For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13      Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14            Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15             and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16    In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17       Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ^[1]

The armor of God…every day, we should put on the armor of God…as we know, the things we fight in this world are not carnal…and as Christians, we are open to spiritual attack from every angle. Over the next 6 days, I want to share with you how I put on the armor of God.

Day 1: The Belt of truth:

Before a Roman soldier put on his armor, he put a belt around his waist. This held his garments together and served as a place on which to hang his armor. The belt of truth refers not to the facts of the gospel but to subjective truth, a believer’s integrity and faithfulness. As a soldier’s belt or sash gave ease and freedom of movement, so truth gives freedom with self, others, and God.^[2]

Satan fights with lies and sometimes his lies sound like truth; but only believers have God's truth, which can defeat Satan's lies. Author Andrew Knowles says that The belt of truth holds the Christian together, giving an integrity of belief and behaviour.^[3]

As you start your day today, put on your belt of truth. Delve into God’s word to see what truth he has for you today!

What can you do to put on your   belt of truth?

How can the truth found in God’s word, help you in your daily life?

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^[1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Eph 6:10–17.

^[2] John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-), Eph 6:14.

^[3] Andrew Knowles, The Bible Guide, 1st Augsburg books ed. (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 2001), 622.

This little light of mine.......

Isn’t it great how God can speak to each and every doubt and question, even before you think about them? Today, I was sitting here, thinking about what I should write about…or even if I should write at all. Is anyone even reading this stuff anyhow? What makes me think that I have something to offer the world? I certainly can’t do this for a living…there are to many other people our there that write better than I do.

These are the doubtful thoughts that have been trying to make their way into my mind every morning and even throughout the day. They hadn’t gotten to me yet this morning, this time, God got here first. As I was going through my emails and reading the several devotionals that come into my inbox every day, I came across this one sentence that jumped off the page at me:

“God gave you a message to share. Don't keep it to yourself.” ~anonymous 

He gave each and everyone of us a message. Our lives are a living example to everything God has done based upon what we allow. The more we give him to work with, the more he can do and the bigger the message can be. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16)

My light shines through what I write.

What is your light?

What is keeping you from shining your light to the world?

Dear Lord, Today you showed me that you are hear and you are always with me. You have showed me yet again, just how faithful you are. Lord, when we truly trust you for everything and place our lives in your hands, you can do fantastic and wonderous things. More than anything we could ever imagine! Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for your mercy and grace. Thank you for loving us so much!!! Lord, reveal to us, what our light is and show us how to shine it for all the world to see. AMEN!