Posts

DO THE SCREAMS PHASE YOU AT ALL?

-
Image
  When you want to scream... You know that you don't really believe that anyone cares, but you risk it anyway. You actually reach out for help..... You may get the attention of a few well-meaning people, especially if you bother their pristine world. Superficial inquiries and condolences are thrown towards you, and with sadness,  you  recognize them for what they are, but you continue to hope...... ...that somehow, someway, that someone would care enough to jump into your inner world  with an iron grip and not let go or quit until you are mostly whole again.  Extremely rare are the people who will go the distance with someone who is truly overwhelmed. If you're one of those people or want to be, remember, THEIR Victory comes only out of your inconvenience. Depression and helplessness are very real, folks. And everywhere today. And Despair, said to be the place where all Hope goes to die, is a very short journey for more people than we know. It's very real in...
Post a Comment
Read more

WHO RESCUES THE RESCUER?

-
Image
       I never cease to be perplexed by me. Never! Not by something beautiful or wondrous, but rather by the fickleness of my own heart.  It shocks me sometimes how self-centered I am. Yeah, me.  The guy that always volunteers.  The guy who seems to be there for everyone. Up front and on the surface, it may very well be, but on the back side, when it is all said and done and it's just me, there is a problem..... The happiness and Joy that is supposed to be shared with them or the self-satisfaction of having been there helping them get through a tough spot or overcome a huge trial is uncomfortably short-lived. While they go dancing off refreshed or steadied, in renewed sense of freedom and life, the "what about me?" monster emerges from its camouflaged hiding place and hijacks the moment from me.  As I try to turn the ship, that are my thoughts, in the right direction, I realize the ugly waves of self-centeredness are stronger than the m...
Post a Comment
Read more

How's your footing?

-
Image
   What Kind of Foundation supports your life?    We all have a bottom line for our lives. You know, our beliefs, our morals, our hard and fast boundaries. Each person alive has their own foundation, but is the material the foundation is made out of, is it put together correctly? Not all foundations are made up of the correct amounts of the necessary components. The most common foundations in modern society today is concrete. Most of the time, because of standardized formulas, the concrete is completely trustworthy. But sometimes the concrete mixture is wrong, so the concrete is not as it should or needs to be. Concrete is a mixture of cement, sand, aggregate (rocks), and water.   What happens when the ratios are wrong? This is an excerpt from an industry training course: "...getting the ratio wrong in a concrete mix can lead to a foundation that is a less stable product, increasing the potential for turning out smaller than desired, along with crumb...
Post a Comment
Read more

SURVIVE OR THRIVE?

-
Image
      Survive or thrive?   I overheard a person working at the grocery store telling one of her fellow employee that she prays everyday "Lord help me get through this day".  Why is she praying to simply survive?  If you're going to ask God Almighty to do something for you that He probably will do, shouldn't you make the request something great instead of something just "okay"? I know that I fall into this lie/trap too often. I would be coming from an attitude of remembering my fallen state or the sin I blatantly committed a while back and base my request upon my worthiness instead of God’s eternal, ever-present Love. My very first pastor, in my new life, labeled it “Staring at your navel”. If you are staring at yourself, your circumstances, your recent path, you will find it impossible to also “fix your gaze upon the Lord…”, unless you're Marty Feldman, and “You keep them in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you,….” Shouldn...
Post a Comment
Read more

Are you Engaged or just dating...Jesus?

-
Image
  Dating versus engaged.    There is quite a difference, as most of us know,  between being engaged to somebody and merely dating them.    When you are engaged, your mindset (should) switch to a "this is serious! Let's start building forever now" mode. The dating mentality, on the other hand, is one of, "I'm going to check this person out in deeper detail, but I know that my options are really still open."   In other words, if something that appears to be better comes along, it's socially acceptable to jump ship and start over...   However, if you are born again, your relationship with Jesus Christ is one of engagement. That's right. He exclusively chose you!!   He proposed when He died and rose again and knocked on the door of your heart, asking you to accept and trust Him.  Fully engaged.    You probably are just "dating" Him if you have one foot on the path of following Him and one foot in the world.    Here's...
Post a Comment
Read more

TAKE UP WHAT CROSS??

-
Image
  What Jesus was really saying in Luke 9:23 There is so much misunderstanding, fallacy, and false teaching of this scripture;    "You must deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow me."  When Jesus was telling this to the disciples, He had not gone to the Cross yet, neither had he been physically carrying one around.  So, since He ALWAYS leads by example, what was He carrying around Daily?  His purpose. And His purpose was to be The Messiah on the cross. Yes, the physical cross was in his path, but that was ONE day out of his 33 years of living, and after that one day, he was done with the material of the cross! He lives even today, still fulfilling His purpose.   This is the same thing that he wants from us.  As we willingly and purposely walk with him in discipleship, we learn more and more of what our individual calling is as He guides our hearts (to will and to do). Philipians 2:13   I've never met anybody who has said...
Post a Comment
Read more

My Loving Manager

-
Image
  How do you describe to someone how to obtain this thing that you've got going on with God?    Yes, we've all got that scripture down that "you must be born again" (John 3:3), but as a step by step instructions, it leaves a lot to be desired in the "how to" details. In a nutshell, it can be very easily described as such: "The thing we all must do is repent (turn) from our known sins, and accepting Jesus, as he really is, to be our on-site manager." Sadly, we have been trained, by the church, not God's Word, to say to people, "you must make Jesus the Lord of your life."    Yes, this is what MUST happen, but that terminology has scared off many a damaged soul.   A lot of people, including me, find that given phrase a huge turn-off. It barks of a power struggle with someone who wants to wrestle you into submission. (nothing could be further from the truth with Jesus) I personally embraced the idea when offered as, "manager of my...
Post a Comment
Read more