Month: April 2015

“Our Public Testimony”

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Today I saw something that made me think of the status of Christians everywhere.  I witnessed a young lady sit down to eat a meal at a public eatery and before she ate any food she bowed her head and folded her hands.  I am assuming that she was thanking God for her food, but it also seemed as though she was trying to hide the fact that she was praying.

I will be the first to admit that I don’t always thank God for my meals when at the table, but I do thank Him at the beginning of the day or at the end of the day.  My practice may not be in with the best discipline, but I do thank God nonetheless. So, again, I am not without fault here.

What I would like to point out concerning how we conduct ourselves as Christians in public.  Starting with what the Bible says we are to never deny Christ or He will deny us; (Matthew 10: 32 – 33) 32. “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”

As we are human and prone to forgetting things I find it fortunate that through the grace of God we have Jesus Christ and the ability to ask for forgiveness, along with the ability to pick up the Bible and remind ourselves of what Christ actually said.  So being my own worst critic and quick to be hard on myself when I don’t do the things I should, I love the fact that God has a way of reminding us of what is important and that sometimes He doesn’t work in mysterious ways to keep us on track with our physical and spiritual life.

When it comes to our confession of faith in Jesus Christ we should only fear a few things; God, something that can destroy both the body and soul, and offending the Holy Spirit.  Nowhere in that list does it say to fear another human being.  In my own experience if someone is offended it is because they are trying to suppress the truth of God and are feeling conviction from God and instead of agreeing to or complying with it, they become angry or “offended”.

So to give a bit of a warning; if you happen to see me or another Christian praying prior to eating their meal, maybe as a Christian approach us and let us know that we did the right thing; everyone can use a dose of support from other Christians.  If you are not a Christian, then maybe take the time to ask the person why they pray; you might be surprised by what you hear.

Jesus Christ is the risen Savior and in this truth resides the living God that we glorify in all that we do.

Praise God!!!

 

 

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“In My Tribulation God Waits, In My Heart He Lives”

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There has been a cliché I have heard lately that has not quite hit the mark. There may those who agree and there of course will be those who disagree. I am not the first to think of this and more than likely, not the last, so here is the cliché I am thinking of;

“God will never give you more than you can handle.”

I would actually disagree with this. To be honest I think God does give us more than we can handle so that we can be nearer to Him. Think about it, when do we call on God the most; when we are in great need or tribulation.

When it comes to our happiness or feeling of fulfillment I believe that God wants the best for us, so much so that He gave His only Son for us, but at the same time God has told us through the Gospels that our tribulation and trials are there to make us stronger not weaker.

Romans 5: 1 – 5: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” NKJV

Of course many of us have been there when we have called on God to help us through the challenge each of us had in front of us and in some cases promises were made or pledges said. Therein lies the topic of how we act towards God after we get back to what we consider a sense of normal or comfortable. How did we carry out the promises made or did we soon forget what we even said because the situation was so bad?

God has given in each of us the ability to overcome tragedy through the promise He has given through His Son Jesus Christ, by whom we have a hope that no other has or ever can offer. With the connection we have to God through His Son, we know that no matter the consequence it is by divine promise and plan that we go through the challenges in our life, each in their own category and way. Each of us has our part to play and through love, fear and obedience to God the victory will be ours.

So looking back on my own life, turning to God through the good and bad is what we are told to do; it is that simple. God wants that relationship with us, but we must understand that the path may not be the smoothest and that we are to always be prepared by placing ourselves into prayer and study of the bible regularly. These are the tools by which we shield ourselves from the world and the stress it daily throws on our shoulders.

So to bring a solution to the table I will provide you with a new cliché; “In my tribulation God waits, in my heart He lives.”

“A Morning With God and Good Coffee”

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Each morning as many Americans get up out of bed and head out to the kitchen, one of the first things that they reach for are the ingredients used in making one of the most popular morning beverages found in this country and many others; Coffee.

For many of us we cannot even think remotely close to straight until the first cup of coffee has been consumed. With some of the fumbling around witnessed by many a spouse or significant other, we could probably come up with some pretty funny episodes for a comedic stage-play.

Next after the coffee might be some sort of breakfast, whatever the makeup or even none at all.  Whatever the order, Coffee is used to start the day off. I believe there are also some studies out there that prove the fact that most people on the highway going to work are compared to being “buzzed” from alcohol because of their morning fogginess even after drinking coffee. Fact-check anyone?

Now that many of you are shaking your head north and south I want to take this to the next level.  Should we be starting our day with God first, before the Coffee?  By now some of you have caught on to the fact that I have been capitalizing the word Coffee.  Why?  Because we capitalize the name of God.  Has coffee become our god rather that the God we all know and serve?  Believe me when I say that I am right there with you.  My body’s first actions or muscle memories are to go straight to the coffee pot so I must also ask the same questions of myself and I am.

So as a Christian living today what tells us that God should come before my morning coffee? Now it might easy to turn to the Ten Commandments and recite the First Commandment, but there are some verses in Matthew that make it pretty clear where God and coffee are prioritized for Christians.  Matthew 22: 36 – 40 “36. ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?’ 37. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. 38. This is the first and great commandment. 39. And the second is like it; ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’. 40. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (NKJV).

My challenge to any of the followers of this blog is to first pray and worship God in the morning before our morning coffee. I would even offer that our morning coffee will taste much better after recognizing God in our lives first and it will also put our soul, mind, and body in a state ready to go through our day glorifying God.  The by-product of that being joy.

Tomorrow in my coffee I will be adding a heaping spoonful of joy because a good cup of coffee does not contain sugar, creamers or any other worldly additive; it takes God first to make it great.

“A What In The Room?”

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The meeting began just as any other meeting with some small talk at the onset and then it was into the business at hand.  As the discussion commenced and the ideas flowed there was a point made as to the ownership of a certain item within a system.  This is when it happened, someone said; “You don’t want to make Satan mad.”

Once that statement was made there were giggles and additional statements about Lucifer with more giggles, laughter and a general acceptance of the name being used in the room made for business; secular and usually politically correct.

To say that whether this blogger was offended is actually irrelevant.  What is relevant is what would have happened if the name of Jesus Christ had been used; what then?

Actually I have seen it before in other meetings years past where the name of Jesus Christ has come up, but usually it was saved for cursing and not for edification.  I have heard the name used in a positive conversation, but it was soon stopped when other members to the meeting showed up because of either secular laws or policies.

Concerning the most recent meeting mentioned earlier I am quite certain that the name of Jesus would have not received the same attention that Satan’s did and this is what I find ironic.  Jesus died for every human being before during and after; what did Satan give – nothing.  I would also guess that almost everyone in that room calls themselves “Christian” and should know better if they do.

Additionally, when we as Christians find ourselves in these situations we must choose love and patience before we act.  Our cutoff should come when the name of God or Jesus Christ is taken in vain; it is then that we should again use love and patience to let it be known that not only do we find it inappropriate, but that God finds it unacceptable.  Either way it is a chance to talk to someone about Jesus Christ; use it.

Today, everyday and in every moment we owe Jesus Christ everything, because through Him we are able to connect to God.  Jesus Christ should not have a place in our society as “the elephant in the room”, rather He should be the cornerstone of everything we do, whether at work or at home.

Thankfulness and Praise to God Always!!!

“Hidden Gifts?”

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Each day we go about our business of going to work, taking care of the family, spending time with friends and just doing what needs to be done. For some this might not be the case and their pursuits might be considered wrong or wasteful. So with that being said I would offer that all the examples listed may not be using gifts they didn’t even know they had.

In the book of Ephesians starting in Chapter 4 Paul addresses the topic of “Gifts”. Starting with those of us who identify ourselves as Christian we are actually given guidance and directives towards our time here on earth as being used to seek out, grow and maintain our given gifts all for the glory of God.  The path is through prayer, discernment and pursuits equal to that of one that is mature.  We are instructed to put away childish games and to start acting out God’s will in accordance with the commission left by Jesus Christ.

Christians are also instructed to no longer pursue the things of the past life in sin that were once the focal point in our lives.  Basically Paul almost goes backward in his approach to explaining the role of gifts in our lives, but it does make sense.  His audience is more than likely Christian or new believers in Christ and his instructions are basically designed to give them hope for the idea of having gifts, but he is also clear that not everyone will have the same gifts and that we should accept the one we do get and make the most of it.

So if we take the time to read Ephesians I think each of us no matter where we are in life we can probably find within our daily grind that we have gifts that we might even wish that we could use more or have never used at all.  Whatever the situation the object is to use them for the sole purpose of glorifying God.  Considering what He did for us it seems to this blogger that what we can offer is but a small price to pay.

Remember this; if someone smiles at you, offers you a “Good Morning” or just a helping hand they might be working on their gift.