Conversation about Creation! Matthew 6:26

Good morning everyone,
A few mornings ago I was headed to work when I noticed a bunch of birds sitting completely still on an electrical wire and I had these thoughts.  What are they thinking right now?  Are they concerned about where their next meal is coming from or do they worry about being cold tonight?  Immediately I thought of the Scripture in Matthew 6:26 and it says, 'Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?'  They don't worry about the things that they can't control.  How about you?  Do you sit around and worry yourself about the things that you can't control?  Do you consult Him regularly about helping you focus on the more important issues of the day?  He wants you to be aware of the things that He created just for you to notice and praise Him for doing it!  The next time you go outside, make sure and notice something that He created and ask Him to fill you with a sense of 'awe!'  Those little birds are plentiful and forgotten for the most part but I felt as though He said, 'they were important enough to create for your enjoyment so you better start paying more attention.'  Ask God to remind you, if you've forgotten, to be keenly aware of the detail that He has produced so you will be totally amazed!  And then remember the last of that verse because it really identifies how much He cares about you!
Your brother in Christ,
p      

Doing the things we don't want to do! Psalm 119:18

Good morning everyone,
None of us like to do things that are troublesome!  For the most part, I think most of us would prefer to do things that are desirable.  In other words, with the results having a positive outcome.  But if we really think about that scenario, it didn't exist with Jesus Christ.  He was always willing to do what no one else was willing to do.  If we would just stop and understand the magnitude of the place we are in, He will create the phrase, 'For a time such as this' in every situation we face.  If we really trusted Him every waking moment, we would not throw our arms up in disarray!  We would embrace each opportunity as a 'golden opportunity' to trust Him and for His perfect will to be completed!  We want to say, O Lord, if You would but take this bitter cup from me....His perfect will is secured in the things that we see as troubles and inconveniences!  He is your 'Azar' which means helper!  How much are we willing to understand?  If you are like me, I'm simply asking Him to let me know on a 'as needs basis!'  Anything else will be too much information or it will keep me distracted because my desire is to do the things that I don't want to do with a cause for Him that passes all understanding!  Psalm 119:18 says, 'Open mine eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.'  May He open up our mines so that we hear His voice and our hearts so that He can steal them away from the distractions of this world.  He will never leave you, nor will He forsake you!  
Your brother in Christ,
p
http://foodforthesoul-paul.blogspot.com/

Simply amazing if God is your measure! Romans 12:3; Proverbs 11:2; Ephesians 4:13

Good morning everyone,
I really don't know where to begin because I'm not even sure where I've come from or where I'm headed.  I do know that God is with me and has been with me all along the way over these past few months.  As I talked with Deborah this morning, it became clear to me that God is simply amazing in any facet of life if you allow Him to be your measure!  Romans 12:3 says, 'For by the grace given me I say to every one of you:  Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.'  We have a tendency to measure our days on how much we have to deal with and from that, the results seem to effect our ebb and flow.  With God in control, every ebb and flow can brightly shine His character if we allow Him to use us as the vessel He created us to be!  Deborah reminded me that if God needs to keep you in a place that keeps you drawn to Him, then that is His will and that is good!  Proverbs 11:2 says, 'When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.'  Whatever He needs to do to me to keep me in the place that directs my attention to Him, that is where I want to be!!  Ephesians 4:13 says, 'until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.'  Brothers and sisters, I love each of you and let me encourage you to know that you have the same 'Blessed Assurance' available to you that has been given to me!  I'll leave you with the beautiful words of that song:
         Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. 
         Oh what a foretaste of glory divine.
         Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
         Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

         This is my story, this is my song.
         Praising my Savior, all the day long.
        
Your brother in Christ,
p

Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom! Proverbs 9:10; Hebrews 2:14-15; 4:16

Good morning everyone,
When you fear something, do you really have a reason to fear it anyway?  God tells us that we should fear Him only!  Proverbs 9:10 tells us, 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.'  If you are like me, I can get in a tizy before I ever need to get in a tizy.  The same One who gave us confidence and assurance is the same One who can enable us to endure a situation that might otherwise cause us to implode.  When you feel as though you are about to unravel, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with His power to overcome.  If you don't ask, you are going to be frustrated and rung out without any sense of 'real calmness.'  Hebrews 4:16 tells us to approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.  If you fear death, ask Him to give you the power to overcome what satan has enslaved upon you.  Hebrews 2:14-15 says, 'Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might break the power of him who holds the power of death -that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.'  See, if we trust Him with our life itself, death really has hold on us.  We can approach death with a whole new sense that life is continuing with the Savior!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Anything worth having is worth fighting for! Galatians 6:2

Good morning everyone,
Galatians 6:2 tells us that we are instructed to carry each other's burdens, and in this way we will fulfill the law of Christ.  Jesus Christ made each and everyone of us so that we would fight for His Kingdom.  Everyone matters to the Kingdom and He loves us so much that He set the table over 2000 years ago so that we would dine with Him at the most extravagant banquet that has ever been given.  He wants you and I to attend to show us His appreciation for the life that we lived for Him.  We make things difficult by saying we don't have time for Him daily because we get caught up in the busyness of the day.  We have a tendency to tell Him that we just simply don't have time.  That is unless we make the time!  When we get instructions from our employers, we either carry them out or we no longer work for that company.  It is as simple as that!  With Jesus, He gives us opportunity after opportunity to simply carry out His instructions.  If we start the day by spending time with Him, we are more likely to carry Him with us all day long.  Think for a moment about why you were created.  Whatever your thoughts are, it is much more than you can imagine!  See you are His creation and He doesn't create junk.  No matter what your past has been like, it doesn't have to determine your future!  Determine today that you want to make Him a priority and I promise you that you will see that you are worth fighting for!
Your brother in Christ,
p  

Are you finishing well? 2 Timothy 4:7

Good morning everyone,
Yes, I have been out of sorts as of late and I am moving forward on what is in reserve.  He tells us that He will carry us when we are out of gas!  2 Timothy 4:7 says, 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.'  When it doesn't make sense for us to plunge forward, He gives us reason after reason why it makes sense to finish the race!  Not by just begrudgingly doing it, but doing it because of the faith that He gives us.  When your body wants to give up and just roll over, He is the One that can help you accomplish the details that you might say don't matter.  Remember, 2 Corinthians 6:7 reminds us that we are to walk by faith, not by sight.  In essence, Paul goes on to say that his body is finished and he is ready to be with the Lord, but he knows that he still has a job to accomplish for the Lord and as long as he is here, he is going to allow his faith to help him finish strong!  Don't we all need that sort of faith brothers and sisters?  Let me encourage you to approach each moment as a tipping point and ask God to fill you so that your decisions will be to lean toward His ways!  Choices are plentiful in any given day.  As we approach this day, ask Him to help you make the ones that please Him!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Why it makes sense to plunge forward! 1 John 5:3-5

Good afternoon everyone,
Today was one of those days that it probably made sense to stay in bed because I didn't really have the energy or stamina that I needed to make it through a long workday.  I have traveled non stop over the past couple of weeks and have not really had a lot of down time!  Sometimes it is best not questioning what we need to do; it is better to just plunge forward and trust that God will give you a new sense of vitality!  When we do that, amazing things happen.  He has a way of taking our minds off what we dread and placing them on getting our jobs done with an improved sense of gratitude!  When we realize that there is very little we can do to change the obvious, He seems to give us a whole new attitude adjustment.  He is always ready to work with us and show us ways we quickly have forgotten that existed.  We forget to include Him in our mayhem!  Plunging forward is really something that is contagious also because when you endure, others see your tired body still performing at levels that don't make sense.  The next time you want to give up, ask Him to give you a new sense of drive and direction.  Be ready though because He may have you complete the project in a much different way in which you intended.  1 John 5:3-5 says, 'In fact, this is love for God:  to keep His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.  This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world?  Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.'
Go forth and endure for Christ knowing that He will be with you all along the way!
Your brother in Christ,
p