"It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: For so He giveth His beloved sleep." -Psalm 127:2
In the book of Jonah, we learn that Jonah reached a place of physical despondency (see Jonah 4:3 and 8). He wanted God to kill him.
Have you ever reached a place of despair and thought that everything and everyone was against you and you didn't know what to do? Maybe you just needed to lie down and get some sleep. Now, that may not sound like the most spiritual thing to do, but we cannot abuse our bodies without suffering the consequences. And being a child of God does not make you immune to physical exhaustion. Have you ever heard of burn out? Where do you think we got that phrase? There is enough time in the day to gracefully do everything God wants us to do.
Do you feel you are on the edge of burn out? Perhaps you are already there. Before you turn to toast, ask God for His wisdom to set some boundaries in your life, to learn to say no, to delegate some of your responsibilities, to ask for a day off from work, to ask for a hug, or to perhaps turn to a Christian counselor for help.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
What are you eating?
"The MEEK shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek Him: Your heart shall live for ever." -Psalm 22:26
Have you ever wondered why people stumble onto inappropriate websites? Perhaps you even struggle in that area. It's because they are not feeding on Jesus. They are seeking satisfaction in the evil pleasures of this world, rather than the eternal promises of eternity.
Suppose you just finished a wonderful meal and somebody knocks on your front door. You answer it and they hold out a plate full of stale crumbs saying, "Eat this." You would say, "No thank you, I don't need that. I'm already satisfied." When you feast on the goodness of Jesus, you won't be down a dark alley eating tin cans with the devil's billy goats. "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life; he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believth on Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35).
Have you ever wondered why people stumble onto inappropriate websites? Perhaps you even struggle in that area. It's because they are not feeding on Jesus. They are seeking satisfaction in the evil pleasures of this world, rather than the eternal promises of eternity.
Suppose you just finished a wonderful meal and somebody knocks on your front door. You answer it and they hold out a plate full of stale crumbs saying, "Eat this." You would say, "No thank you, I don't need that. I'm already satisfied." When you feast on the goodness of Jesus, you won't be down a dark alley eating tin cans with the devil's billy goats. "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life; he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believth on Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35).
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Faith on earth
"I tell you that He will avenge them speedily, nevertheless when the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" -Luke 18:8
I believe with all my heart that the call needs to go out today more clearly than ever before for Christians to keep the faith. William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, said, "the chief danger of the 20th Century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and Heaven without Hell."
Are you seeing that today? We are but one generation away from paganism. If this generation doesn't keep the faith and pass it to the next, there will be no faith.
Do you see any ways where you or your church has not kept the faith? If so, what are those ways? Ask God to give a vision and bring revival in your heart and life and then fan the flame of revival in your church.
I believe with all my heart that the call needs to go out today more clearly than ever before for Christians to keep the faith. William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, said, "the chief danger of the 20th Century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and Heaven without Hell."
Are you seeing that today? We are but one generation away from paganism. If this generation doesn't keep the faith and pass it to the next, there will be no faith.
Do you see any ways where you or your church has not kept the faith? If so, what are those ways? Ask God to give a vision and bring revival in your heart and life and then fan the flame of revival in your church.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Finish your course!
"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." -2 Timothy 4:7
Do you know the way to finish the course? Keep looking to Jesus. I've preached the Gospel for about 4 years now and God knows I have my faults and sins. He also knows I have repented and aim to get right with Him each and every day.
Although all of us are far from perfect, I can say this same God to whom I have poured out my heart has kept me on course. He has kept me preaching the Gospel. Finishing the course God has planned for us is never easy. It takes discipline and hard work. It takes picking ourselves up, dusting ourselves off, and starting over.
One of these days you are going to have to look back on your life. And I hope you will be able to say that you have fought as a warrior and finished as an athelete.
Do you know the way to finish the course? Keep looking to Jesus. I've preached the Gospel for about 4 years now and God knows I have my faults and sins. He also knows I have repented and aim to get right with Him each and every day.
Although all of us are far from perfect, I can say this same God to whom I have poured out my heart has kept me on course. He has kept me preaching the Gospel. Finishing the course God has planned for us is never easy. It takes discipline and hard work. It takes picking ourselves up, dusting ourselves off, and starting over.
One of these days you are going to have to look back on your life. And I hope you will be able to say that you have fought as a warrior and finished as an athelete.
Monday, March 5, 2012
A thousand years from now
"If any man's work shall be burned, He shall suffer loss: But He himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."-1 Corinthians 3:15
A thousand years from now, some of the things that you think are so important are not going to be so important: your meticulously groomed lawn, who won the Super Bowl, your date for the Senior prom, the type of car you drove.
Now, there's nothing wrong with these things, but I want to ask you: What is there about your life that is going to remain when the moutains have crumbled? When the stars have fallen from their sockets? Wood, hay, and stubble are going up in flames! But, "if any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward" (1 Corinthians 3:14). Things are going to look different in the light of eternity.
A thousand years from now, some of the things that you think are so important are not going to be so important: your meticulously groomed lawn, who won the Super Bowl, your date for the Senior prom, the type of car you drove.
Now, there's nothing wrong with these things, but I want to ask you: What is there about your life that is going to remain when the moutains have crumbled? When the stars have fallen from their sockets? Wood, hay, and stubble are going up in flames! But, "if any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward" (1 Corinthians 3:14). Things are going to look different in the light of eternity.
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