Drive On

The future is always before us, and God has given us gifts and abilities--tools to be able to build that future into something worthwhile. The height of foolishness is to use our God-given gifts for our own benefit and enjoyment. God's plan for you is no more matured if you are using your enjoyment of reading to delve into secular adventure stories or play an instrument for musical appreciation. As long as we are still alive and breathing, God has a plan for us; if we are still here on earth (aren't we still?), God has something for you to do, something specific. It is your duty as a child of God to chisel the snow from the road so that you can see its lead and drive safely on, into the distance!

P.S. God won't mind if you stop at the gas station for some Happy Holidays and a few desserts along the way!

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ~1Corinthians 12:4-7 (ESV)

"Mucho" HATE "Para Poco" SIN

Let those who love the LORD hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. ~Psalm 97:10 (NIV)

Something good is different than something pleasurable. Sin is very pleasurable, and if you have ever convinced yourself that sin can be good for you as long as it's not permanent, then it could dig you a pretty deep hole. When we give in to sin, it consumes us and we try to enjoy it while we can. My prayer is that God will constantly help me to see the sin for what it is and to hate it before I take any samples.

"Giving into sin, and calling it love--it's a dangerous run, a gravity bomb." ~I Am Empire

Wise guy ;)

 

Most to be Pitied

Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. ~Zechariah 4:10 (NLT)

Wow. I was just reading Romans 4 where it says "blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin." That's crazy to think of in light of all I've done to hurt him. As it says in 1 Corinthians 15:19, we as humans are most to be pitied--in this life we have no hope. Our only hope lies in the taking up of God's offer to forgive and comfort us in our troubles, and while we can place our hope in him for getting through this life, we must also acknowledge the hope of the life after, for it will be more glorious a day than any we might see here.

The cry of every long-suffered heart and tired soul

Wakes to see the light of heaven's glory shone, of grace untold

And the depths of human trials [will be] taken up by the great I Am

Unto the cry of a desperate man

When the morning star sang out into the world on that day

And the son of God laid out before our eyes to pave the way

Into this broken home he spread his arms, what’s better than

Any cry of a desperate man?

~"The Cry of a Desperate Man" (song by NET)

Succesful Succession

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other." ~Abraham Lincoln

 

We can have good intentions sometimes, a plan to make things in our lives better, but if we have no discipline in forcing ourselves to complete an uncomfortable obligation, then there won't be much forward motion in our steps for other people to see. And this self discipline doesn't only have to apply to ourselves--perhaps to our patience with others. Loving people is not easy, but if it's possible, wouldn't it be worth it in the end? Let's follow in the success of Jesus' perfect life and do our best to live our purpose-full lives to the fullest.

And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow.  ~Thessalonians 3:12

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/abraham_lincoln.html#coSAeaiq8eBrhxPY.99

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/abraham_lincoln.html#coSAeaiq8eBrhxPY.99

Shadow

Look for the light at the end of the tunnel.

It's nearing winter and the days seem to be getting colder. I am remembering a day a year or two ago when the roofs of the houses in the neighborhood had been frosted over during the night. It was nearing midday, and most of the ice was gone, but there was a certain house that had a double roof overhang construction, so one part of the roof was higher than the other and it cast a shadow. Because the sun had nearly overcome the roof and fought back the shadow, the ice on the roof was practically gone as well . Under the cool reach of the remaining shadow however, there was still a definite line of frost coating the panels. This got me thinking.

As the shadow slowly died down, so did the ice creep back to the corners of the roof where it was the coolest and "most comfortable." If our lives and actions are represented by the ice, then the shadow is the protective comfort of the devil's subtle lies and the sun is the Son of God. The devil wants us to crawl back in our holes apart from Christ's reach, but as God fights back the shadow, he asks us to do the impossible: stand our ground and not melt away even when the sun is flashing us full in the face.
Stay strong, friends!

As for me, I look to the LORD for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me. Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light...The LORD will bring me into the light, and I will see his righteousness. Then my enemies will see that the LORD is on my side...with my own eyes I will see their downfall. ~Micah 7:7-8, 9, 10 (NLT)

Satisfaction : Complacency

As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. ~Psalms 17:15 (ESV)

If we are always unsatisfied with ourselves and our inferiority/sinfulness, then our hearts should always yearn for the God who is perfect in holiness. Let us never become satisfied with our lives in a way that allows for complacency and self-absorption to take over our walk.

And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. ~Luke 12:19-21 (ESV)

 

Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. ~Job 1:21 (ESV)

Kill & Destroy

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ~Colossians 3:3 (ESV)

What does that verse really mean? For most Christians, it means that there was a time when we killed our lives of sin and worldly cooperation to make new lives set apart for Christ our savior. That is true, but it leaves out something very important. Although we disposed of our old selves and allowed God to change our way of thinking and acting in this world of sin, it is still impossible for us to stay pure, holy and sinless the rest of our lives. We are held lock and key by Jesus because he was the one to destroy any hope of our old lives consuming us, but what we should never forget is that we are to constantly put our sin to death--every time we sin we are to confess and be reborn. Never forget that Christ's death and our acceptance of it are not a permanent means of escape from the world and that we must keep an open chat box with God for the times when we will stumble. Stay strong, friends, and continue to fight the daily battle without losing sight of God's eternal life for us.