where are you headed for?

This past Saturday night i was channel surfing and came upon Schindlers list on TV   I had seen it before.  I almost always get emotional when i see the scene with the little girl in the red jacket playing in the street.  even though there is ciaos going on all around her, still she seems unafraid of her surroundings.  It breaks my heart to later see her dead in a mass grave.  Many times I wonder are we that little girl?  do we simply play through the streets of life unaware of our surroundings.  Do we wander through our own turmoil leaving god out of it, to simply figure our own way out?  Do we simply end up in a mass grave with so many others just because we wouldn't cast our burdens on Jesus?

Matthew 11:28-30

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

²⁸ “Come to me, all who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Place my yoke^[a] over your shoulders, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble. Then you will find rest for yourselves ³⁰ because my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Don't go around carrying something you were never meant to carry.  Jesus is there just waiting, wanting you to give it to him.  Dont end up in the mass grave.

Matthew 7:7-14

New Living Translation (NLT)

Effective Prayer

⁷ “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹ “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? ¹⁰ Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! ¹¹ So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

The Golden Rule

¹² “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

The Narrow Gate

¹³ “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell^[a] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. ¹⁴ But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

father i pray for all those i know that are carrying burdens they were never ment to carry.  I pray for all those entering their own mass grave.  I pray that they would cast their burdens on you.  I simply pray for all that might read this, that your will be done it their lives.

amen

if you haven't watched Schindlers list you need to....just make sure to have a box of tissues.

Be still

http://utmost.org/the-discipline-of-spiritual-perseverance/

Be thou my vision

These past few days I have been saturating on psalm 46:10. Especially the first part of the verse. Be still and know that I am god. How often are we still? Do we in this modern age ever take the time to release our mind and just be still to listen to what god wants? Are we too consumed in the things we want to be still and listen to the king of kings?

I was in a nursing home this week for work. There was a precious woman there who sat down beside where I was working and started chatting to me. A group from the home was going to lunch at a local baptist church. When she was asked if she wanted to go she became very irritated and responded..."I'm not going to that place. I'm Lutheran. I don't want to go.". I believe that Jesus was speaking to me through this woman. Telling me not to fear, to be still and let him lead. I want nothing more than to be still and let him lead. Question is will you be still and let him lead? I pray so!


Also read today's devotional for 2-22-13 which is the first link.

chains

This morning when i woke up i had an image of two hands bound together in chains.  Feet shackeled together bound to the hands.  I got on facebook shortly there after and there was an image of two hands bound together and there was a quote on the picture "the further society drifts from TRUTH, the more it will hate those that speak it." george orwell 

I would imagine that bondage to sin is not what mr orwell was thinking when he pinned these words...but it is so true.  we are often bound by our sin to the point we are totally unaware of it.  we walk through this world living as it does.  We act as the world does.  Are we tired of walking as the world does, when will we call on the name of jesus to Come break our chains?  He is always beside us, walking with us.  He wants to cut our chains to sin...if we would only ask.

2 Corinthians 4:7-18

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁷ We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.^[a] This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
⁸ We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. ⁹ We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. ¹⁰ Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
¹¹ Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. ¹² So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.
¹³ But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”^{[b] 14} We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus,^[c] will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. ¹⁵ All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.
¹⁶ That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are^[d] being renewed every day. ¹⁷ For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! ¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.


Will we let him come fill us up?  or would we rather go on living and wallowing in our sin?  would we rather be bound to the sins of this world?  I for one want him to come fill me to overflowing.  I don't want anything to do with the ways of this world.  I want to live wholy and totally for him.  Sin can take a hike, cause Jesus is here with  me and in me...it has no place in me.  Will you let him in to drive out sin?  will you let him fill you to overflowing? I pray so!

Father i pray that if there is any body that reads this that needs to pray, or needs someone to pray for them that they wouldn't hesitate to either comment on this post, or somehow get in touch with me.  I pray for those that won't read this or will read it and not pray.  Father help them see you are the only way...this world holds nothing any of us need.  ALL i need is you!

amen

jesus culture - spirit break out

Jesus culture - fill me up

Thankful

When was the last time we really sat and thanked god for the people he has put in our lives? I am truely thankful for my wife. Not only is she my best friend and my love, but the mother of my precious daughters. I thank god daily that he put her in my life. When we met I was in a bad place...or so it seemed at the time. Now that I look back he put her in my life to help me through that place I was in.

On this valentines day if you don't have anybody to lean on, Jesus is there. He is only a call away, call and lean on him. I pray if there is anyone who reads this and needs someone to talk to, or lean on that they would call on the name of Jesus. He is the answer, what's your question.

Http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=92QFcpy0XC4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Busy?

Be still. One of my favorite versus in the bible. While traveling around today the lord put this verse in my head. I got to wondering how often are we still? Do we quiet the thoughts in our head to hear what he wants to say? Do we let him lead us or are we too busy to just take the time and be still in his presence.

Father I pray that I am never too busy to be still. To be still listening to your will for me. I pray to be still.

lost

The word lost can often mean several different things depending of your perspective.  The following is the definition of lost

lost  

/lôst/

Adjective Unable to find one's way; not knowing one's whereabouts: "they got lost in the fog". Unable to be found: "he turned up with my lost golf clubs".

Synonyms missing - stray - gone   1 Peter 5:8 ESV Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.   How often are we lost in the fog?  All too often.  The evil one often tends to make fog appear to proposely wander away from the love and guidance that the holy spirit has layed out in front of us.  He is there beside us no matter what wanting to guide us, even carry us when the way gets a little rough.  If we are lost what are we to do?  Do we wander around in  the fog trying to find our way?  do we stumble around in the Darkness that surrounds us?  all too often yes.  Never be afraid to hold out your hands and ask Jesus to guide you.  He will guide you or even carry you if the situation you are in is too much for you to walk through.    Matthew 6:25-34 ESV “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ... Father i pray that no matter what the situation i pray that i would always seek your guidance and help first above all.  I want to depend on you not myself.  I stumble and fall when i try to handle things on my own.  All i am, all i have is yours.  for when i was lost you found me, when i was stumbling around in the dark, you were there to shine a lite and help me find the way to daylight.  amen hillsong - from the inside out

Fear? Fear not!

I have to admit this is from a devotional I read. I thought it was too appropriate not to share. Are we scared to let him take the reigns?

Read Psalm 46

PREPARING YOUR HEART
Many men and women are constricted, stunted, or even paralyzed by fear in their Christian walks and in their daily lives. They are kept from the joy of the Lord and the pleasure of living out the purpose God has for them, and from experiencing a victorious Christian life because of fear, anxiety, and worry. How might fear be keeping you from glorifying God and enjoying Him each day?

The thoughts and fears of a few saints like you and me are recorded below. Read them and know that you are not alone in this struggle. Ask the Lord to expose the fears that lie hidden in your heart.

“I’m scared that I don’t deserve God’s favor because of ‘the sin of the day’ ... I worry that He might need to teach me a lesson the hard way because I’m so stubborn.”

“I fear the consequences of radical living—of fully committing. What will people think—my friends, my family, my kids, and even other Christians?”

“Even with all that I know of Him and His love for me, I am still fearful to let go and let Him lead. I sometimes wait for feelings first before obedience, yet feelings are the result of obedience.”

“I fear insignificance.”

“I’m scared that my goals, hopes, and dreams don’t line up with God’s plans for me. I’m scared that if I follow Him, I will have to move to a mud hut in Zimbabwe.”

“I’m scared of being disappointed—I’ve been let down so many times by my earthly parents, it is hard to believe that I can trust God.”

“My circumstances are so hard. He must not love me or be working for me because I prayed and nothing has changed. If He has the power, why doesn’t He use it?”

“I have trouble believing that the Bible is true, so I pick and choose what I’m going to believe and do; then I wonder why it is not working out for me. I want to believe God and obey His word, but I don’t really, so I do it my way, and it doesn’t work out for me ... so I blame Him.”

“I’m scared that if I surrender fully to God, I’ll turn into someone I don’t recognize or even like.”

FOCUS THE EYES OF YOUR HEART
What do you fear? Close in prayer using Psalm 46.

Scrap wood

Listen to the link below while reading the post

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92QFcpy0XC4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Most of us have times in our lives where we wonder why would go use me for anything. We stumble and fall, we fall short of feeling worthy of any grace. I recently made 6 wooden crosses for the men who lead tuesday morning prayer at my local church. I didn't select the finest wood I could. I looked through the scrap wood box in my fathers wood shop. I used pieces that weren't perfect. I used pieces that had imperfections. We too aren't perfect, we have scars and blemishes left by the world. Still Jesus chose us. He bled and died for imperfect pieces of wood, like us. We aren't worthy of the love and grace he showed us...still he Hung because he Loved us. We may be imperfect pieces of wood on the outside....but with Jesus guiding me...I am all he needs!

You too might feel too scared and imperfect to be used. We can all be used for his glory. He can always make something beautiful out of something imperfect...something great out of scraps!

Father I am only pieces of scrap wood...but with you living in me I am something beautiful. I pray that you continue to sand and finish me in the way you need me! Amen

what are you absorbed in?

How often have you pondered your purpose? It's easy from the worlds eyes to think our purpose is to live our lives for ourselves. Those who aren't parents don't often understand "its not about me, its about my children". We all seem to get caught up in what the world would have us. We tend to spend too much money on ourselves, when it would help someone else. We spend too much time watching tv (guilty), spend too much time on our smart phones (guilty). I want to leave a godly legacy for my daughters to follow in. How can I do it without being absorbed in gods word? There is no way I can without saturating in the word, reading it to them, studying it with them. Consume me from the inside out father!

Father I want to get absorbed into your word, so that when you ring me out all that is worldly leaves me, and only your word remains. I want to be so absorbed that I ignore all the distractions the evil one places in my path. I want your ways to be my ways, with everything that I am.


Listen to the link below. I want the spirit of that song to be my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92QFcpy0XC4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Speech

Romans 12:3 GWT

3 Because of the kindness that God has shown me, I ask you not to think of yourselves more highly than you should. Instead, your thoughts should lead you to use good judgment based on what God has given each of you as believers.


Ephesians 3:17-18 GWT

Then Christ will live in you through faith. I also pray that love may be the ground into which you sink your roots and on which you have your foundation. This way, with all of God’s people you will be able to understand how wide, long, high, and deep his love is.


I often see people talking, as if to try to figure out the answer to something. Most never seem to think that the bible would have the answer. I imagine most think of the bible as a big story. Still others think its a lie. I have had the holy spirit speak to me..."did you hear a voice?". No it was louder than that. The bible is the ultimate answer book...what's your question?