You Are A Mountain

Image via Wikipedia

Psalm 125:1-2 “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved and abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.”

If you ever doubt for a minute that God does not protect you and give you strength and power beyond this world, then come back to this passage. TRUST in God and you will be unmovable like Mount Zion. Your faith will be steadfast and you will have eternal life (not death).

I trust in God and I believe that His Son Jesus Christ died for me and my sins and has given me the gift of eternal life. I have faith in that, in the eternal life part. That is not to say that my faith does not come and go, per se. My faith is 100% with God and the fact that when I die, I leave this world to spend eternity with Him. BUT, on a day to day basis, I lose sight that He is my savior.

I cannot even count for you the times that I have turned my back on God and walked in the direction I knew He did not want me to walk. I also cannot count the times that I made decisions without talking it out with God first and TRUSTING Him to make everything work out. I cannot count the times that I lean on Him to come through for me, and once He does I give the credit to myself and don’t have a conversation with Him and read His Word for months….until I’ll need Him again for something and come right back to Him.

My goal, the goal of every believer, should be to have the type of relationship that leans on God every minute of every day. Good or bad times, walk with Him.

And you know, the wonderful thing about God, is that even when I am not talking with Him and trying to build a relationship with Him, He is still there. He is still protecting me and is waiting for me to come back to Him. And when I finally do, He is there, He never even left. I am one of his children, I trust in him, and ultimately try to live my life for Him. He has plans for me, and has an ultimate place for me, so he will not EVER leave me.

He is the mountains surrounding Jerruselam, which is you, me and every other believer out there.

Strive for the type of relationship that meets with God everyday and is constantly listening and looking for Him. Don’t just TRUST in him when you need him, TRUST in him when you “don’t” need him; because even then, YOU NEED HIM.

Advertisement

Stop Turning in Circles, Turn To God.

Psalm 18:28-29 (New International Version)

28 You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.

29 With your help I can advance against a troop ^[a] ;
with my God I can scale a wall.

What more is there say?

We need God.

Without Him we can do nothing, with Him we can do anything. You want happiness? Turn to God. You want to be successful? Turn to God. Deeper faith? Better relationships? Better grades? Turn To God.

We need Him.

This is something that we should not, and cannot, deny. In every area of our lives we need to let God in, give it up to Him and let Him work through us. I can’t stop from thinking, “If King David knew that he needed God, then why shouldn’t I?” I haven’t decided yet if this is a good way to look at it, but I’m being honest, it helps to put it into perspective for me. I can tell you from experience that if you give God control over something in your life you will notice a big difference! I can remember not feeling as stressed about certain things. It gave me a feeling of peace that God was in control and He was going to work though me. No longer was it me trying to work though me (that thought alone makes my head spin), but it was God working though me.

God’s own Heart + My heart seeking after God’s + Me giving up control of my life = God working through me

-Instead of-

My heart + my thoughts + my control = (absence of God) chaos

Give it a shot. Give God control of your life and seek after Him! It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. Meet Him in His word Daily, pray daily, and make it a habit to turn to God for everything!

Word’s For Life

Wow. Never again will i skip 3 days of reading God’s Word, and for 2 reasons: 1) instead of an excellent 20 minutes of being in His Word, it’s an incredible 1 hour and 20 minutes of being in His Word, and 2) each day that i missed is always seemed a bit off. Almost like something was missing, and it was; i hadn’t eaten yet! Things just seem out of place when i skip out on God, i think it’s a friendly reminder from Him, that He is in control. Thank you, God, for that reminder!

So after all of this reading you would think i would have a sermon to write, bu surprisingly, I do not. Genesis continues to intrigue me with all of the blessings from God. he truly blessed Abraham and all of his descendants, so far at least, that i have read. to me, these men are examples to follow. Their faith and obedience to God is so deep and focused, that is the kind of faith that i want to have, the faith of Abraham. Then, in Matthew, i read the passages that spoke of the miracle’s of Jesus. From giving sight to the blind and life to the dead, He did it all. And it is incredible to me that people still doubted His message after being witness to the greatest man to walk the earth!

And then i came to proverbs:

Proverbs 3:1-12 (New King James Version)

1 My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands;
2 For length of days and long life
And peace they will add to you.
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart,
4 And so find favor and high esteem
In the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct^[a] your paths.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and depart from evil.
8 It will be health to your flesh,^[b]
And strength^[c] to your bones.
9 Honor the LORD with your possessions,
And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
10 So your barns will be filled with plenty,
And your vats will overflow with new wine.
11 My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,
Nor detest His correction;
12 For whom the LORD loves He corrects,
Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

This is just incredible to me. God’s timing could not be anymore perfect and right on with where i am at in my life day to day and relationally with Him. God is good and he continues to speak to me and encourage me through His Word. I could go verse by verse here if i were teaching youth group again but I’m not (currently) so I’ll try to summarize my thoughts. Trust in God always (even when it is hard to do so), and show mercy to everyone because God has shown His mercy to us. In everything that we do, every decision that we make, seek after God’s heart before coming to a conclusion, do this continuously and you will notice each part of your life become easier because you have consulted the ultimate helper, GOD! Even when you can’t afford to do so, give to the Lord, He WILL provide for you if you show Him that you have faith in His ability to do so (even if it seems impossible)! And lastly (for today), accept God’ punishment and grow from it. Become a better person because of it…do not use it as an excuse to do things your own way, that will only take you deeper into the trap.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your Word! Thank you for meeting with me and speaking to me as if you were sitting next to me. God i ask that you be with us right now, continue to show us the path that you have laid before us. God i want to give you more of me, use me how you see fit to the glory of Your Kingdom. God continue to bless us and provide for us. I pray for wisdom in handling the blessings that you have given to us, guide me in this task Lord. God, please continue to meet with me here, please help me as i strive to make this a part of who i am and who i am to become. Amen.

Called To Action

Matthew 6:31-34 (New King James Version)

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Wow. Again i knew this was in the Bible somewhere, i just never cared to remember or look where it was.  Recently i have been struggling to fall asleep every night.  I’ll lay awake for an hour, toss for another, and finally just go to the couch and try to sleep there.  I should have been thinking about this verse instead of reading or watching a movie on my iPod.  I love the part that instructs us to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.” Step #1 right there.  In everything that we do, do it for the Glory of God, with His Kingdom in mind.  If we do these things he will provide. He will give us food, drink and clothing.  he will provide if we seek after Him.

Matthew 7:7-8 (New King James Version)

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

This is so reassuring to me.  I pray to God on a some-what regular basis.  I trust Him to provide for me and to hear my prayers.  But, sometimes i doubt all of it.  I begin to analyze what i am doing and then my flesh just takes over.  Every time that happens i want to think about this passage. “Ask and it will be given to you…”  This speaks to what i wrote about yesterday, being an active participant in this relationship.  We are being called to action here; called to have an active, alive, relationship with the ONE TRUE GOD!

Lord, you know my heart.  you know my struggles. Lord i pray that you would continue to bless me with your provisions.  Lord, i meet my every need.  God, i do not want to doubt you and your power, please speak to me on a continual basis the words found in Matthew 7:7-8.  God i want you to play a larger role in my life, i give my life up to you lord, and ask that you use me to the glory of your kingdom. Amen.