Frustrating Yourself

As I am wrapping up my 15 year career in retail grocery and moving into a full-time ministry position, I had an epiphany.

I realized that much of my disappointment, frustration, and anger with my job wasn’t the fault of my employer. I was mad at myself for not doing what it took to escape from the comfort of the regular paycheck, benefits, and security the job provided.

We all need to earn a living, and should be thankful for what we have, and I am. But the calling on my life sat on hold while I “figured out”my life.
Truth be told, I stubbornly refused to make the changes needed to move forward and blamed everyone but me.
Once I finally heeded the call of God, a whole new issue arose. Will I trust Him through the process, and listen to His direction? I learned some things about God, and myself, as He opened the door I am walking through now.
It wasn’t until the last week of my job that I started to sense some anger re-appear, I didn’t fully understand it until today.

If you are settling in your life when you know God has a place for you elsewhere, don’t procrastinate. The days quickly become months and years, and then you wonder what happened with your life. You will never flourish like you could without listening, trusting, and obeying the voice of God, for you.

A Mother’s (And Father’s) Day Promise

Often, during the parental holidays, there is mention of the fact that it isn’t always a celebration for all.

While your past may be joyous, full of fond memories and loving moments, not everyone shares in that sentiment. Many are reminded of trauma, hurts, and pain inflicted on them as children. You may have grown far beyond the years of your childhood, but you can still be influenced by those things that happened to you as a trusting little soul. You can spend decades struggling with them and yourself, wasting years in anger and depression. You may have vowed that you would never do to your children what you experienced, and yet you seem to duplicate them in many ways.

Jesus came to give freedom to the heart enslaved by the pains of life. Parents and children alike can have a hope that bursts through the belief that you are handicapped forever by your past. If you have indeed given your life to Christ, receiving His extravagant salvation, then you are not destined to live your life stranded on the rocks of despair.

The image of the good Shepard is so comforting to me, His selfless love rescuing me from many dangers.

John 10:9-13

The Message (MSG)

^6-10 Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

^11-13 “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary.

Hope for every day, and for a better life is found in the promises of God.

There are a thousand ways in which our days here can seem pointless and lost, but He is all we will ever need. He is the Father and mother you desired, unlike those who never treated you lovingly, abandoned you carelessly, and gave you away to be used and abused. He holds you tenderly in His arms of protection and guides your every footstep. He speaks to you in His still small voice, giving you peace for the storms of life you have endured. He will never leave or forsake you, but will joyfully welcome you into His loving arms one day at the gates of heaven.

Mother’s, father’s, and children alike, be encouraged today that Jesus loves you beyond the ability of any person on this earth, with a pure and selfless passion.

Eternally.

Stop. Listen. Be Renewed.

It is really quiet in the world before the sun rises and people start moving about;  I appreciate silence more than ever. The lyrical chirping of birds and the rustling of the leaves in a gentle, cool breeze.  Getting out of the routine and taking in the lack of activity is refreshing. I believe many don’t do this because it gives room for thought in their minds. This can lead to pain and sadness, even regret, but also to spiritual revelation, self realization, and to a love for the God-created natural world around us. In the quiet, I contemplate both the past, present, and future; and I marvel at the wonder of God’s divine plan.

Take the time to stop. You may believe you will only get further behind but that is not the truth. You will be refreshed by listening, waiting, and hearing. It isn’t always about doing, though we are commanded to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. It is about balance in this life, this life that is but a vapor in the great scheme of eternity.

You are God’s beloved child.

Quiet yourself to hear Him speak to you.

Accept His love for you.

If you stop and listen you will hear Him speak. Whether you are in the midst of great suffering, or the joy of living brings you sunny skies, He is the same. I am strengthened knowing His great sacrifice of love for me, and for you.  He died for us,  giving all. So let us live a life worthy of His suffering and pain, and live in the victorious resurrection of Jesus. This morning my spirit is renewed, I see myself as God sees me and I am encouraged, all because I stopped, and listened.

Now it is your turn. Stop. Listen. Be renewed.

Is Christianity Intolerant? Or is the World Intolerant to Christianity?

Reblogged from Tim Messenger:

Yesterday was a historic day in the world of professional sports. For the first time in any of the four major male North American sports leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) an active player came out and announced that he was gay. Jason Collins, who was a member of the Washington Wizards this past year, made his sexual orientation public through a story he wrote for…

Read more… 861 more words

Thought provoking.

A Transformation Of Appreciation

It is easy to go negative and let circumstances dictate our mood, and our outlook on things.  We are having a great day and then someone says something to us that just sets us off.  In the midst of a run of really positive things happening in our life, one solitary negative thing happens and we start down a road of complaining, whining, and crying about how horrible our lives are, and how we can never catch a break. Seriously?

I find myself going there from time-to-time, and I know I am not the only one. As Christians, we are above all blessed; just being the sons and daughters of our Father in heaven seems it should be enough to carry us along.  But we live in this real world, and it is full of sin, hurts, injustice, crime, hatred, selfishness, corruption…you see what I mean.

Going negative is EASY!

Let us take a moment and count our blessings, I will get you started with a few I am noting  in my life.

I have a Father in heaven who saved me and loves me and I am blessed with a wonderful woman in my life who also loves Jesus. My family;  I accept things as they are and thank God for them. I have many friends. I have a good job that helps to support my family, and I have a place to call home. I have a spiritual calling on my life. With these very few I am just beginning to scratch the surface of all I am blessed with. From the message Bible, the following scripture provides a template for our lives.

Colossians 2:6-7

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

Part of the problem with negativity is believing your happiness or success is somewhere out there, and in all reality unattainable. The scripture you just read disputes this thinking, and removes our excuses for thinking the worst.  Start living what you know, in every situation. If we don’t, we will wallow in self-pity, and “woe-is-me” will be our refrain.

Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

When you have a thankful spirit, you will gravitate to appreciation for what you have, and who God is in your life. So let us live in a state of gratitude, bless and not curse, and watch a transformation of appreciation take place!

Strength From Weakness

As I sit in the coffee shop this morning and rehearse the many situations and circumstances that have led up to today, I am amazed.

Amazed at how God can take a life so destined for utter and complete ruin, an existence defined by crippling decisions, failed exploits, and seismic cataclysms, and create something beautiful. As I write those words I declare that I am no longer that man, and that I am now a new creation in God. I am His son, and blessed beyond measure far above and beyond all that I could have ever asked or thought.

Perhaps a series of events, or a lifetime of difficulty has you in a place of disbelief. You cry out in pain, and feel it can never be consoled, that your grief is too deep and your anger too fierce to be quenched.

I know those emotions, but more importantly I know the one who brings healing and restoration from a cycle of sin and hurt.  I am not so simple to believe that everyone who reads this post finds themselves in a place of harmonious ecstasy with the world where they live. I realize that you may have pain that defies words or expression and acknowledge my heart is hurting for you. But there is a solution.

When our pride is laid at the altar of the cross of Christ and we accept that some questions will never have answers.  Yes, we have pride, and it takes many forms.  It is boastful arrogance that accompanies success, but also when we believe that our wounds cannot be healed by Jesus, and that our sin is to big for Him to forgive.  We just take it all upon ourselves, the crushing weight destroys our hope and belief in a loving God.  Pride.

The Apostle Paul writes of this:

⁶ If I had a mind to brag a little, I could probably do it without looking ridiculous, and I’d still be speaking plain truth all the way. But I’ll spare you. I don’t want anyone imagining me as anything other than the fool you’d encounter if you saw me on the street or heard me talk.

^7-10 Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.  (2 Corinthians 12:6-10 MSG)

I am made strong in God, not in myself…and so to can you.  Re-read the previous scripture, over and over, begin to see the wonderful truth in these words.

Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

Thank you Jesus.

All We Need Is Jesus

Have you ever longed for a clean and fresh start?

In this life we sometimes make poor decisions, and in our broken-ness we look to people and things to bring us joy. We come from generational lines that have had some serious issues and downfalls.  And in the midst of all the dysfunction we lose much of our passion for God and forget the sweetness of His presence. Stumbling along in a fog of confusion as to who we are and to whom we belong.

Courage and bravery is what you will need now, no quick fix or encouraging word from a friend is enough. I am convinced that anyone and everyone would benefit greatly from a process I experienced this week. And it doesn’t matter who you are, your title, your calling, or your station in life. We can all be bogged down by the storms of life, and the onslaught of the enemy of our souls.

So I set aside an intensive five hour block of time this week. It was spent with two men of God and together we walked through what I will call, “Seven Steps To Freedom”.  To be sure there was much personal preparation before we got together, including putting to paper everything I could recall about my family history right up to where I stand today. And I would like to share a couple of things that made tremendous impacts on me.

The Power Of Renouncing. We all have let stuff beyond the hedge of Gods protection that have tainted our beliefs, our outlook, even our joy. It is in renouncing those things step by step, completely, in sincere and anointed prayer that freedom is regained.

The Power Of Declaration.  Who is God, and who are we? It is in declaring and affirming the truth of His and our identities that power and confidence are regained. It is vitally important to recognize those two things and at the same time realize how impotent the enemy is when we don’t assist him in his feeble plans.

There was much more to this process than I have noted here, but today, I am a new man; and with great confidence I can say that. It is not in my strength that I stand, far from it, but in the power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you find yourself weighed down, struggling, not completely and fully able to stand on God’s Word and His promises; it may be time to take a hard and possibly life restoring look at where you are and where you could be.

God is truly all we need.

The Sigificance Of Today

One day.

In the scope of your life it may seem like a small thing.  Maybe its your day off, or a day that you have nothing serious to do, a lull in a series of more important events. But it is those days that are quite possibly the most important of all. It is in the down time that the mind will wander, that your resolve may soften, and your heart be led away.  So it was when David ”took the day off” from being King, that he started down a road that resulted in an illicit sexual encounter, an illegitimate pregnancy, murder, and the death of the child conceived in sin. (2 Samuel 11)   As king of Israel he had great privilege and responsibility which he laid aside to feed his own personal wants and desires.

So, what will you do today? While we live in an age of grace, there are still devastating repercussions if we don’t choose wisely. Years can be lost as a result – relationships destroyed, financial ruin, heartache and pain, the list goes on.  It is when we put our temporary desires before our life long calling that we derail our purpose.

You may say that your little diversion is nothing, but it is the little foxes that spoil the vine. The sins that destroy usually start with small acquiescence’s that build upon each other and blow up like a bomb; we lie to ourselves up to the very moment our lives and the lives of others are changed forever.

The joy and peace derived from a life consecrated to Christ is one that is fulfilled in Him alone.  It is sustained by the sacrifice of His body and blood, and renewed daily by His resurrection and presence with us.

Will you join with me today and say this prayer?

Today Lord,  I will  honor You with my decisions, recognizing that which I do in secret will one day be shouted from the rooftops.  I will give my life to You and turn away from  that which will cause separation from Your presence.  I renew my love for You, and the joy that comes from a life fully devoted to following You.  I love You, and this day is Yours. Amen! 

 

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Forgive and Be Free

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

 Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.

Amen.

Someone has hurt you, deeply, and you can’t stop thinking about it. Your consumed with the pain that has been inflicted on your life and you resent, even hate the one who has done this to you. How could they betray your trust, and what were they thinking when they decided to do this? You are dumfounded by their callous regard for your feelings, and you wish the very same on them. You are unable to enjoy life for there is only this one thing always before you. You have stopped at this point and are unable to progress beyond it.

Does this sound familiar to you? I believe that it does, for we are all confronted with scenarios that challenge our ability to move on, whether emotionally, mentally,  even physically.

It is in the most recognized prayer of the Christian faith that a key to our freedom is revealed.  (For a moment, let me interject here that head knowledge of this isn’t enough to keep you free, it must be truly embraced and practiced in our lives.)  We have all said this prayer many times over, but have we truly understood what we have spoken. I contend that we haven’t, and I speak from a heart that let un-forgiveness  destroy many years of my life.  And in fact, many times we are angry with someone for so long we don’t even remember why we hold this animosity toward them in the first place.

The point is that we cannot afford to hold any part of our hearts aside for the cause of un-forgiveness. There isn’t room inside a child of God to harbor resentment against another when WE are the chief of all sinners. I am reminded of the scripture that says:

“It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this I-know-better-than-you mentality again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your own part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor. Luke 6:41,42 (MSG)

Lets all search our hearts and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal that which is impeding our progress, our joy, and even our freedom in Him. Forgive others as you have been forgiven and live at peace with all men.

 

New and Improved!

I have merged my three blogs into one to simplify the way in which I write. What you will find here is the content from my two “spinoffs”, the daily rip[ple] effect and the [worship] effect. In the future, all posts will be on this page.

Thank you for reading!

Chris