He Comforts Us

2 Corintians 1:3 Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of comfort. Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any troubles with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed , it is for your (our) comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort which produces in you patient endurance of the same suffering we suffer.

I read this the other day and shared it with a friend. He asked me to share what I got out of it. As I started to tell him, I felt something down deep say yeah, what did you get out of it? So I went back this morning, read it again and asked... ok - what did you really get out of it? What I came up with is really simple. The same way that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit comforts us and has compassion for us, it should be the same way for our children and family. When we are teaching our kids to ride a bike we know that things are going to happen. We know they will crash and get hurt but we need to teach them and help them through it so that they can accomplish it. While they are hurting, do we not say to them it will be ok, I'm here, I wouldn't do this if I did not think you could? It says in the word He will not give us more then we can handle and I believe He is saying it again in these verses by saying He is there for us to comfort us when we fall and has compassion for us when we are hurting from our troubles.

Where are you today? Are you hurting? Do you know that God is there? All you need to do is believe and call on Him.

Kicking Rocks

Have you ever been in a parking lot or out in the desert kicking rocks? The chances are you really had something serious on you mind or the extreme opposite. You were not thinking anything and you were just hoping something would come along that would give you some meaning.


I have kicked my share of rocks. I have found that if you are out there too long kicking rocks, thinking, or just aimlessly wondering around you can wonder off into a place you do not need to be. I'm not saying being in the wilderness or desert is bad, you just do not need to stay there any longer then you need to. What has happened to me in the past when I was out there I would forget the reason I was there to begin with. It usually followed a time of obedience to God where I was reading my bible, praying, writing in my journal, or just being still and talking with God.


I hear a lot of people say I do not understand why I'm out here in the desert or wilderness I have been trying to do the best I can. I also have said the same things, forgetting that I am in a spiritual war with the flesh and all the things of this world


Paul told the Galatians "For the flesh sets its desire against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please" Galatians : 5-17 nasb.


I think its time we stop kicking rocks and do something more with our time when we are in the desert! We need to seek God in a whole new way, ask him for guidance ask him for a new anointing and keep seeking him in every moment so we do not drift off to a place where we are by ourselves wondering what happened.

Chapters of a Book

Chapters in our lives...we all have them. When does a chapter close and a new one begin? I have had so many chapters in my life that I feel my life could be one of the biggest boooks ever. Some people call these seasons or trials, but I like to call them chapters.


We all go through things in our lives that are happy, sad, hard and trying. For me it is easier to look at them as chapters because its something we all must go through to get to the end of the book. So many times at the end of a book things turn out good and or better than we could have imagined.


To me this is the way a lot of Christians' lives are. We go through a lot of the same struggles, temptations, and heartaches but we seem to handle them different. Some of us look to the things of the world some of us look to God.


As we go through the book of our lives and turn the pages in our lives and go from one chapter to another we somtimes we get tired of living in the time of the chapter we are in and try to skip to a chapter that looks more exciting or interesting. The problem with this is that when we skip too many pages we get lost on what is going on. We have missed a crucial part in the book that would have lead us into the next chapter if we would have held on.


Remember, we all go through chapters in our lives that may seem pointless but if you will stay in it until its done and see that chapter through you will have a better understanding when you go to the next chapter.

Fine Line

I have heard the expresion used a lot lately. I know its only a figure of speech but people sure ues it a lot. Fine line, what does that really mean? The way I have heard it used when people are talking about sin or scriptures. Sometimes when someone does something that is not acceptible to the world but is of God they say well "there is a fine line there". This may offend some of you but I would like to use drinking as an example. So many people say its okay to drink as long as they do not get drunk with it.


Lets look at this scenerio, let's say you are in out to eat with your family or friends and you are finished eating and someone you have been trying to get to church walks in and sees you with a beer on the table. What is the first thing that person is going to think? I could not find where it says you cannot drink but it did say do not get drunk on wine. Even though you only had one beer or glass of wine you just became a stumbling block to that person.


So many Christians believe it is ok to drink as long as they do not get drunk! We as Christians are supposed to try and be like Christ. I'm not in anyway saying I am perfect, but I do believe we can all do better. I think the first step is to stop saying there is such a fine line, and start reading the whole truth of the Word, not just the parts that makes it seem ok to do some of them. There are 2 lines - RIGHT and WRONG. NO FINE LINES!

Temptation

Temptation
I want to talk about a touchy subject for a lot of women. I want to step out there and say something that might be sensitive to a lot of women and men, but if I am going to do this I have to be real about it. First to the men... Have you ever noticed the way both women and young women dress? We can't even go the mall or out to eat with out being faced with the temptation of looking. We might be totally happy in our marriage, but when it is put in front of us, we have to look away. As soon as we do, there will be another women walking by the other direction and you just can't get away from it. I wonder what would happen if we as men dressed our daughters and asked our wives to cover themselves more. Do you think it might help the men stay more focused on what they are doing?

Women, I have talked to my wife about this and she says I have no idea how hard it is for a women to live in today's world where you feel like you are competing with brand names and fashion, whats in and what is not. I do know that I am proud of my wife and the way she dresses. I hope that everyone that reads this will take a look at themselves and see how they are dressed and ask yourself - am I causing a man to stumble today? Is my wife going to cause a man to stumble? Is my daughter dressed in a way that will cause young men to be tempted? I guess the main question would be - Is God pleased with the way you are dressed and what women and young girls are wearing? James 1: 14 "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 then when desires has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is birth gives way to death". I know this may sound like I am putting pressure on women and the way they dress and in a way I am, but women need to think about what they are wearing...especially to church. Women, I am not saying in anyway that it is all up to you or that men are not strong enough to resist, but it is hard enough with out any distractions.

For the Men. Where are you with Christ today? Are you tempted by women? Are you tempted by any other temptations this world has to offer? I know I am!!! I am being real when I say there are things in this world I fight off everyday, but I sit here today and say God is my strength and I seek Him for the rest we all need daily. Men we are called to be the head of our house and will be held accountable someday for what we do and what we do not do, meaning letting the women and daughters in our house go out dressed in a inappropriate manner. You might say what would that be? Well think about what catches your eye when a woman walks in front of you.

Face or Hand of God

What is it you have been looking for in your life? Sometimes in life we are faced with challenges. Sometime these challenges are out of our control and we do not know what to do about them. When we are faced with a callange we turn to friends, family, elders at our church, and if we get desperate enough we turn to God. Why is God the last place we turn?


I had it put in a way I have never heard the other night. We need to stop looking for the hand of God and start looking for the face of God. Meaning...if we are looking for the hand of God for help it means we are not looking at the heart of God and what He wants. This goes back to the question I asked earlier. What is it you are looking for? I guess the real question is how are you looking for it? Are you looking to man, or are you looking for Gods face (Gods heart)?

What would you do?

How far would you go to get something you wanted? Would you be happy for someone if they got it first or if they received something you didn't think they deserve, would you congratulate them ? Those are some hard questions if you answer them honestly.


I am reminded of the story about the prodigal son in Luke 15:11- 32 where it talks about the son that wanted all of his inheritance before his father passed. His father granted him his wish and gave it all to him and the son went and blew all of it on worldly possessions. Pretty soon he had nothing left and found himself working for hardly anything and thought if he is going to work he would rather work for his father because he knew he treated his men well. When he was almost back to his Fathers house his father saw him from a distance and came running to the son told the help to get his robe and cover him and prepare the fattest calf for a feast. His brother did not understand why his father was rejoicing and was upset that he had been there the whole time and never received anything like what his brother was receiving. His father told him we must rejoice for your brother was dead but now he is alive, he was lost but now he is found.


Picture this: you have money, toys, friends, family, and everything else of the world. You take it all and blow it and are left with nothing and you find yourself at the bottom with nothing. How many times do you go running to God our father when you have messed up? He is always there with is arms wide open and ready to take us and treat us like we never did anything wrong.

Inspiration

Where does inspiration come from for you? I can think of a lot of things that inspire me. My kids, my relationship with my wife, family, church, sunrises, and sunsets. These are all good things but if we look a little deeper, all of these things come from God. Too many times we will see our kids playing something and get so proud of them for who they are, we do not take the time out to see how God is working in them. Sometimes we will see a beautiful sunrise or sunset and never look at it more than what it is. Sometimes when we get together with families we have such a good time being with them that we do not see past that time.


I have been blessed to have been touched by God's grace in my life and see that all things are made by God. The sunsets, the good times with the family, that moment when my kids tell me they love me, even the the time spent with my wife going down the road in the car not saying anything just looking at each other and knowing everything is good. I believe all of these moments are from God. We should always look at each of these times and be thankful for them, but also know that God is behind each of these moments.

We should take the time to thank him for these moments. We should look beyond what we see , so that we might see the hand of God and how he gives us these times.

Have You Ever Felt Lonely?

Psalm 23 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. I was in the valley this last week. I felt I was all alone in everything I did. It did not matter if I was at work, driving to or from work, or spending time in my hotel room.

One thing you really never hear about, that came to mind for me this week was you hear people teach or you will hear pastors preach about being on top of the mountain or down in the valley, but never here about the in between. I think a lot of times we are in between. I saw myself trying to climb out of the valley this week. I know that we are not alone, God is always with us. A good friend told me once, even when you are in the valley you are not alone, you have the river of God flowing under your feet. That really stood out to me, because you know the water of life flows from high on the mountain down into the valley and can cover all, and can even go into a crevice in the ground. Either way you are not alone, the water is still all around .

I find that sometimes when we are climbing out of the valley, I think we find ourselves halfway out looking down and then looking up and thinking I do not know if I can make it! That is the beauty of it. You do not need to do it all by yourself. All you need to do is lean over and take a drink of the water that is flowing down the mountain and it will help you get a little closer. The water is the strength of Jesus.

Journey

Webster's Dictionary defines a journey as a travel or passage from one place to another. I have been on journeys in my life. I am not talking about getting in a car and going somewhere. I am talking about the journey in life. We are all on our own journey going from place to place but when do we ever arrive at our destination?

For me it seems that a lot of people, including myself, head out on a journey but do not know where they are going. I think sometimes we get tired of the day to day lives we try to live. We get so busy and run so fast that we do not realize what we are doing and then on the spur of a moment we try to make a change. For me, I know in the past if I did not like the way things were going I would start something new; hobby, work, lifestyle or some other extreme change. I was always looking to go on another journey, wanting to go somewhere different, wanting to see something different, hoping that there would be something new and exciting.


One of the biggest problems with that was that I never finished the journey I was already on. Sometimes it seems we are always looking for the next journey the one that might be more exciting the one that might bring meaning.

If we would take the time to look at our lives and see where we have been and trust in God and truly seek Him out to help us on the journey we are on right now, we might be able finish the journey in the way God wants us too. He will open the door to the next one. You will not need to jump from one to the other he will make it known to you.

Prayer

Have you ever said to someone "I will pray for you"? How about someone saying they will pray for you? I have been guilty of saying I would pray for someone and then didn't and then sometime down the road that person would come to me and say thanks for all your prayers...ouch!!!! What do you say when that happens? Do you tell them you really didn't? Do you try and say you tried but forgot?


I thought about this when someone asked me to pray for them back when I was walking with God the way I am now. I told the person sure, no problem I am here for you, anything you need.


I will never forget it when that person came to me almost a year later and said thanks for praying for me. All I could do was look away and say sure...no problem and ask how did it turn out? The worse thing that could have come out of their mouth came out. After the person told me how all the things that he had asked me to help him pray for didn't happen, I was ashamed, felt guilty and just down right disgusted with myself.


I never told this person that I never prayed for them. I should have told this person I was not living in a time were I felt like I had the right to be praying for anyone, but instead I just said ok, I'll do it.


With all that being said I am so glad that I have come to a place with my walk with Christ that when I say I am going to pray that I can honestly say I do it. Sometimes if I feel I might not or the need is so great I will say lets pray right here and right now.


Have you ever read the verse in Luke when Jesus is talking to Simon? In Luke 22:31-32 "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked you to sift you as wheat. 32 but I HAVE PRAYED FOR YOU Simon that your faith may not fail". WOW!!! Jesus said he is praying for him that Satan will not get to him. I have really spent some time on this and I realized that he is also praying for us just as he did for Simon Peter. Jesus does not want us to fall to the lies and deceivement of Satan's evil ways.


I don't know about you but if I have people praying for me and I say I am going to pray for you and you know that Jesus is praying for you and me, how much more do we need?


If anyone comes to me and asks me to pray for them, know that my heart is right and that your need will be prayed for. If anyone that reads this needs prayer and wants me and anyone else that reads this to pray for them just post your need and it will be done. You can even stay anonymous if you would like.

Hitting the Ceiling

I know that this sounds like a strange title, but if you read through it you will understand why I chose it. When we are inside our homes we never really think about our ceiling. We sometimes run through the house and jump and see if we can touch it (don't think you haven't tried it our thought about it).

I have 10' ceilings through most of the house and no matter how hard I try I can't touch it. In the bedrooms I can jump a little bit off the floor (not like I can jump that high anyway) and touch the ceiling. I have often wondered what would happen if I could jump high enough to go through. I know on the other side there are wide open spaces that seem to go on forever.

I think a lot of us hit a ceiling in our lives. We are only able to go up so far. It seems to me its because we do not practice jumping. We do not believe we can so we just keep at the same height we have always been and not ever try busting through to see what is out there for us.

I know it might sound strange but that is one way I see our walk with Christ. We have gotten used to jumping up and touching the ceiling that we can touch because its easier. It doesn't take as much effort and it makes us feel like we have accomplished something.

That is not what we are supposed to do. We need to get out of our comfort zone, take a chance and see if we can bust through the ceiling to the other side and see what God has for us. Too many times we get caught up in going to church, bible studies, study groups and not looking for more. All of these things are great and we need them but if we do not do these things we are hitting the ceiling. Not doing more on our own for him like prayer, listening for him to speak to us and just spending time with him. That would be hitting the ceiling but not going through. Maybe we feel we can't, were is the faith? Maybe we are scared. We are not supposed to feel scared. Sometimes we feel that with all the sin in our lives we do not feel worthy. Take a look at these guys and tell me why they were asked to follow Jesus.

What about the disciples? Where they all scholars? Did they all come from well known families? Did they hold some kind of paper that said they would be better at serving God? No, they came from all kinds of backgrounds. Simon Peter-fisherman, follower of John the baptist, James- fisher man from Galilee, John-the brother of James, Andrew also followed John the baptist, Philip, Bartholomew who was thought to be a friend of Philip according to John 1:45. Matthew the tax collector, Thomas who was a twin and sometimes referred to be the one that had a hard time understanding what Jesus was teaching. James from Galilee, Thaddeus son of James (not Iscariot), Simon-occupation guerrilla warfare fighter/assassin, Judas the only one that was not from Galilee.

I think I got most of them right. The point is they were not anything special to you and me if we passed them on the street today but Jesus saw something in them just as he sees something in you and me. He wants us to bust through the ceiling and see what is out there. Stop living in a box and thinking there is a limit to our learning about him, thinking that there is only a certain amount of mercy and grace.

Get out of the comfort zone take risks on Jesus behalf, he did it for you.

Broken

What does it mean to be broken? I like to look at it when a horse has been broke it has been tamed. Have you ever been broken? Broken from drinking, drugs, pornography, lust, or even the occasional curse word.

Stick with me, this may sound weird to some of you but I think you will understand when I am finished.

When a horse has been broken properly it will not buck no matter how hard you pull on the reigns, no matter how bad the bridle hurts, it will not buck.

I had the opportunity to help break a few horses when I was younger. The first horse we rode until he was too tired to buck anymore. It took several of us to do it but we finally did it. The next horse an older man showed me a different way. We didn't pin him up and get on him and try to ride him. We simply got in the ring with him and just sat there with him day after day until he would come over by us and stand there. After a week or so we put a bridle in is mouth and let him get used to it. After he got used to having it in is mouth we put a bag of seed on his back and led him around by the rains. Several weeks later, after truly earning his trust, we pinned him up and sat down on him and talked while we sat there in the pin. Finally after about a month, we opened the gate up and rode him out into the arena. He was a little unsure what to do but he never bucked.

The first horse we broke later was turned into a rodeo horse because he would not stop bucking when someone got on him. He never settled down, he never changed just simply stayed wild. The other horse never learned how to buck even though it was scared.

We are a lot like a broken horse if we take the time and read our bible, pray, seek God, and wait for the instructions. When we are learning maybe we wouldn't buck and maybe we can learn to be led by the Holy Spirit and not always rebelling and not trusting Him.

Game day

Have you ever been apart of a losing team? How about a winning team? Which one did you like the best? I would bet most of you would say the winning team. With that being said, did your team ever lose? How did you feel? Did you cry, get mad, maybe scream out loud? I have been on a losing team most of my life.


The team I was playing on was the worlds. It was a good team of wealth, pride, freedom to do what I wanted anytime I wanted. The only problem with the team was that most of the time I was doing it by myself. I had no one that shared in my victories. I found that as long as I was on that team I would be alone no matter who was around me. This group of people so called a team of people that say they care is a LIE!!!


I found a new team. The coach is Jesus and the captain is me picked by the coach. The team players are brothers and sisters. The key players are my wife who is there to help me call the plays and helps me come up with plays to attack the other team so they do not attack anyone on my team. Next would be my kids who are there to encourage me to carry out the plays called by God.


Having God as your coach and looking at your play book (the bible) will help you win this game called life.


I do really think life is a game but think a lot of people look at it this way and I hope that more people would look at how serious it is to play the game of who has the most money, biggest house, nicest car, or best job. If they do not look at it differently and put all of those things aside then they will surely lose in the end.


I think it would be neat for us all to know how many team players we have. If you want to let me and someone else know you are on there team let us know by commenting with your name.


We face the other team everyday and some day the coach will blow is whistle and THE GAME WILL BE OVER. The team that you are on when that whisle blows will determine if you win or lose.

Understanding

The lack of understanding, wow where do I go from here? There is such a lack of understanding for each of us whether we are talking about politics, religion, or why people act and say the things they say and do.

For me I have always been the type to sit and wait on someone to show me something new or tell me something new before I jump in. (YEAH RIGHT!!!) Unfortunately, its always been the opposite for me. It didn't matter if I understood or not, I was all in. As I get older I am starting to understand somethings...like why get drunk, putting yourself in certain situations, why people do not do what they say, and why do we not really put God FIRST. Is it fear, is it pride, is it anger,is it hurt, or is simply a choice? I think it is all of it put together. I think the lack of understanding of all these things is what holds each of us from fully seeking God.

I have and am still trying to understand a lot of things that are going on in my life but as I do I am learning that God doesn't want me to understand, He simply wants me to trust, trust Him now and the understanding will come later.

Proverbs 3: 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Proverbs 2: 3 Yes if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding.

Tired

Tired, are you tired of working? Are you tired of the routine? Everyday we are faced with something in our lives that we feel we are tired of. Maybe so. Maybe we are tired, maybe we need a change in our lives or maybe we need to slow down and get some rest.


A lot of you know that I have been out of work for about 6 months. I know a lot of you know how much damage was done in NW Arkansas. Well I thought, ok, now I can go make some money. Wrong. I came down with what I think is strep throat. I feel everytime I think I am going to do something good something happens and I am not able to. I am tired of the day to day, wondering if I am ever going to get another job. There have been times when I wanted to give up, give up on what God has called me to do, but He always reminds me that I am not the only one that He has called. He has called each of us to do His work. The problem with this is that there are so many people out there that are tired. They are tired of fighting, tired of trying, and are ready to give up.


We live in a day were we are going to get tired. We can get tired of seeing the ads that run across our tv's. We get tired of going to work(I might if I had a job). The point is that we all get tired. We have all said or thought why do I need to do everything, why do I need to be the one? Because God said you are the one to do this for Him, and you are the one.


This is a verse that I think might help, it helps me. Galations 6:9 and let us not grow weary while doing good for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.


Have you lost heart in what God wants you to do or have you lost heart in what you want to do?

Let me put it another way are-you tired of trying to do what you want to do instead of what doing what God wants you to do?


Isaiah 14: 3 It shall come to pass in the day that the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you serve.

Confused

I am often confused about what to do. Maybe it has something to do with all of the choices we have in this time and day. I am still hoping and waiting for God to show me what it is He wants me to do. People are faced with so much stuff in today's world; marriage, to stay married, work place and how they should act there, and how they act at home. I could go on and on about what confuses people but I believe it comes from the Great deceiver Satan. He wants us to have options. Options to make the wrong choice.


I know several men that are faced with a choice in there marriage, whether they should stay in a marriage that they think is dead or move on to the next one. I have some questions. When did marriage become a question? When did staying with the one woman you fell in love with , the one that you asked for her hand in marriage, become a question to ask is she the one that you want to stay with? Unfortunately, this is a question I have asked myself and I believe some of you have too.


Some of you know my story about the last couple of years. I made the mistake of asking that question, do I want to be married? Do I want this stress of always wanting to do the right thing? It wasn't that my marriage was bad but there was confusion. I forgot that there shouldn't be a question to this. I have made a covenant with her. A promise that I would never leave. I also made this same covenant with God. That is what marriage is.


This should not have ever been a question in my life or anyone else's life. There are few things that we know in life but I believe this is one that so many get confused on. Have you ever heard people say "Well if it doesn't work we can always get a divorce"? I would have to say they are confused about the whole thing before they even get started.


I am not saying everyone knows what to do or say. Under all circumstances the Lord knows I am confused about what I think I should do for a job, but I guess that is why He talks about trusting Him, coming to Him, giving Him all things, and to be still and know that He is God. In other words put all your confusion to rest and let Him have all your fears.


We all need to get what is and has always been the same... Gods word. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.


Matthew 9:36 from the message Bible - When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no Sheperd.


We need to find our sheperd and pray that He will lead us out of confusion.

Praise

I have recently been faced with what I thought was a defeat but actually it was in some way a blessing. I applied for a job that I was certain I was going to get but after not hearing from the company I called. What a surprise I got when they told me I was not the fit they were looking for. For a day I was confused. I was angry, hurt, ashamed, embaressed and lacking self worth.


During this time I did what I think so many of us do when we have been faced with this kind of disappointment. I screamed out. I yelled for understanding. I needed some sort of closure to why I didn't get the job that I thought would have been a perfect for me.


I got it. On my Birthday I talked to many of my friends and the sent me e-mails like that job was not for you, God as something else for you, or be still, He will show you what He is doing.


White I was sitting with my family at a table for my birthday dinner I was shown through my family what is important and what matters. There was no sickness, there was no hurting, and there were only happy faces. Faces of joy watching my kids do and say the silly things they do.


I neglected my studies for a day. Being surrounded by friends and knowing that God has already given to me what I need at this time, I realized again He is worthty of praises. All the time, even when we don't get what we think we want. Truth be told, some of us have no idea what is right for us only He has our destiny planned. We can choose to give Him praises or go through life always wondering why, why me, why now, and when do I get mine. Maybe we should ask how and what can I do for you.


2 Samuel 22 :50 "Therefore I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the Gentiles and sing praises to you".


Psalms 59:17 "To you O my strength, I will sing praises. For God is my defense, my God of Mercy".


Psalms 27:14 "Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait on the lord".


Isaiah 40:29-31 "He gives power to the weak, to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not grow weary. They shall walk and not faint.


These are some great words of encouragement to me and hope that if you are faced with something in your life you will look at these verses and praise Him then wait for Him.

Stuff

We have all faced STUFF in our lives. Some have gotten so dirty, that it covered our faces. It's hard to to see the real person behind the stuff. I understand just as much as anyone about being covered in so much stuff that it hides your identity and your heart. No one can get to know you because of the stuff. It seems to me for so long I held on to the things in my life that after a while, I convinced myself that I didn't deserve a beautiful wife, two awesome kids and a life that a lot of people would be love to have.

But God is good. God loves us when we turn to Him and ask Him to cleanse us from the sins or stuff in our lives. Have you ever thought about the song that you are probably listen to right now? Washed by the water. There are so many songs that talk about being washed. Washed as white as snow, wash my sins away and being washed by the blood. Why is this? I think it's because so many will ask God to help them to forgive, to help us, to be with us, but do not ever let go of the stuff in our lives.

We all need to remember that we are washed by the water even though it might be painful. Even when the storms come you are washed by the water. Even when the rain pores. If we truly believe and ask God to come live inside of us, we all have been washed by His water and made clean and new. So let the dirty stuff you have done in your life go. God has.

Presence of Something Greater

I have been trying to think of something to post. This is truly what I love to do but I have been struggling with coming up with something to say. I would start to write something and then I would read it and either it didn't make sense or it just didn't feel right. Today I have been worshiping God with music and every now and then I will stop and pray. It didn't take long for me to find myself in His presence.

As I sit here and look at blogs and e-mails I am starting to feel God tell me something. I went to my wife's blog and started to feel the tears coming up inside of me. I felt the presence of my comforter. Then I had a friend call and I started to tell him how I am feeling that the Presence is all over me, he received an important phone call and had to go.

I am reminded that Satan does not want us to feel God's presence in our lives and will do anything he can to distract us from that chance to feel the Spirit. I know that it is hard for so many of us to stay in His presence but I feel that it is always on us. It's as if we choose to let it come upon us and accept it. He says he will never leave us, and that all we need to do is call on him and he will make himself known to us.


I believe there are so many people that are missing out. I do not think I am better but I do think God has given me something special, something He wants to give everyone. The problem I think is that they're afraid of change, afraid to give up their ways of living, or people try and put Him in a box. There is not a box big enough to put Him in.


I think we all need to think about who is really in the box. Some people like the comfort of thinking they have everything under control and that they are comfortable with where they are. If that was true, if people really believe that they have it under control then why is the name of God yelled out when someone close to them dies, or when you lose the job you say you have created, or when the perfect family you say you have is falling apart, or how about the sickness that comes upon you or someone close to you, do you have control? Is that when you want to find yourself in His presence? Is that the time when you find yourself longing for something more? I can say for me it is a lot easier to already have the relationship with the Father when things are good than when the storms come. You know that His presence is already there for you. You won't need to call out to Him, He is already there and you are covered in His presence.


2 Corintians 3:4 "Such is the confidence which we have through Christ in the PRESENCES of GOD".

Where is the Love of God

Have you seen the love of God? Have you ever experienced something in your life that can only be described as the love of God? Have you ever received an act of kindness and wonder why the person did that?


I believe that God's love is not only seen in what He does for us but can also be displayed through people. I have seen these acts in my life and I am sure if you think about it you have too.


When was the last time you showed someone an act of kindness? I'm not talking about acts of kindness where you say... well I guess that person needs some help and I guess I can help them. I am talking about a deliberate act, one that took you by surprise, one that you never saw coming. One that as soon as you heard that someone needs something, you said this is what I can do without any hesitation.


Recently I heard a story about a man at my church that was at Walmart shopping when he was walking through the store and saw a family standing in the toy section trying to figure out how much money they had to buy Christmas presents. He could tell they didn't have much. Without any hesitation he walked over to them and gave them money without any reservation. I love to here those stories about how God puts us in a particular place at the right time to demonstrate His love to one another.


John 13:34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another". 15 "By this, all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another".


Look at the opportunities you have to love someone. Love and then you will be showing them God's love.

Silence

I recently thought that being silent was something I did when I just didn't have anything to say. That may be true but there is another silence. Then there is a silence like when you are laying in your bed at night with no lights, no TV, nothing but darkness. I have recently felt this myself laying in my bed, no noise dead silence. It scared me. As I laid there it made feel like I needed to jump up and do something, but what? Maybe turn the TV on, read a book, or something!

The longer I laid there I tried to fight it by going back in time. The next thing I know I was thinking of things that would make a Sailor blush. What happened? Why did I find myself there thinking like I never turned from that life? As I laid there I found myself fighting and wrestling with good and evil, knowing what I was thinking was from the past, things that I never want to be apart of again. The longer I tried to fight it the further I went back.

Numbers 14:9 from the NIV says "Do not rebal against the Lord and do not be afraid of the people of the land because He will swallow them up. Their protection is gone but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them."

In Psalm 4:4 NIV "In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds search your hearts and be silent."

Why do we ignore these feelings? Why do we try to fight what we know we can't win on our own? It donned on me after I woke up that I had actually been asleep the whole time and that God was telling me that I have not been coming to Him like I should and that I need to turn to Him and seek Him through His word and let Him take care of things that keep me turning and tossing at night.