His Outcome!

What does a person do when he or she cannot see through what's ahead?  I think that this question occurs to me everyday.  The solution is to trust Jesus.  The neat thing about blogging about how God is leading, is that when tough times come, all one has to do is go back to past blogging experiences and to see how God has worked.  No matter what the outcome of this interview, God is on His Throne, and He will make a way where there seems to be no way.  Faith does not base itself on an earthly outcome but on the heavenly one!  I truly believe that God will take care of me no matter what.  A story that comes to mind when in this situation is the story of Peter in prison.  He was sleeping right before his execution, because he trusted Jesus all the way.  Here's the reference:  Acts 12:5,6

"5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.  6 And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. 

Now the interesting thing to note here is that he was thrown in prison by Herod for preaching the Gospel.  Notice what he is doing before his execution:  He is sleeping!  Now that is what I call perfect trust.  The next part gets really interesting, notice the next few verses with me if you will:

 7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.  8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.  9 And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.  10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.  11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews."

To the Christian the question is not if God will deliver, but a great expectation and joyous excitement of how.  Just when things seemed the darkest for Peter, Jesus came through.  "But what about those that didn't get saved" you may ask.  Well, the good news for them is that their story is not over, even though they are asleep.  They are asleep in Jesus!  So no matter what trust God to make the most of your situation when you give it to Him.  I like how David puts it in Psalms 18:18-23:

 18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.  19 He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. 20 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.  21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.  22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.  23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.

Not the Place of Happy Endings but There is The Rock!

This post is going to seem like one of those John Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress posts and that is because as I dreamed last night, God showed me something absolutely amazing.  Lately I have been going through a hard time, and the truth is that most people have. As I lay in my bed last night after talking to God, I had a dream.  In the dream I was helping somebody remove pests from the land.  After a while the scene switched and I was on my own.  As I watched "myself" I noticed that a lot of people that were nearest and dearest dying or being taken away. The scenes were gruesome and I began to wonder if God was really there.  When all of the sudden there was a thought in my head that said: "God is not into making sure that we have the most rosie life.  He is into building our characters.  Life is made up of stages and their purpose is to help us perfect a Christ-like character.  There are going to be stages in life that are enjoyable and pleasant and then there are going to be those stages that are not so pleasant and in fact even terrible and horrible, but in all of them God is working His greater purpose."  Losses that we all face at different times only remind us that this is not our home.  That we are not there yet!  As the dream continued the scene switched to me trying to find a job and being unable to.  My wife and kids and I were out of a job and out of money, when we ended up at this house that was built completely in Solid Rock.  Once inside the house we didn't worry about being hurt, or attacked.  The Rock afforded protection from the storm, and the people dwelling there were nice.  Incidently they were Spanish!  That was totally awesome."  The Rock was a place where no one could find us.  There we found security, and got to know many wonderful people.  Finally we were able to see other things going on around us, but didn't care.  We had a home in the Rock that was safe and secure."

These two dreams that I had last night say something to me very special.

1.  God is not always in the business of our comfort here on earth, but rather in the building of our characters through the things of life.  He wants us to learn that we can trust Him in any situation because He is working out our ultimate good.  No matter how painful the situation God has a better purpose for good in it!  In Heaven, all of the loved ones we have lost who died in the Rock we will see again, and once we reach the finish line, our characters will have been molded to the point where we are able to live with Jesus in Eternity.  We will have the whole story.
2.  God is our Rock, we can go to Him any time we are discouraged or don't understand what is going on.  He is our place of safety, where we can learn and grow, and experience His love.
3.  The people that are in the Rock are also growing and experiencing His Love.  We are all in the Rock together so we should do the best to make sure that it is a safe environment.
4.  The Rock may not afford the best this earth has to offer, but He is Home!  He is Base.  He is a Safe Place.

There is a verse in the Bible that comes to mind when I think of these dreams and that is: Psalms

" 5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.  6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.  7 In God ismy salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.  8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah. 9 Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degreeare a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighterthan vanity.^*n5  10 Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.  11 God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.^*n6  12 Also unto thee, O Lord,belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work."

Reaching Love

There are several things that have occurred to me this weekend.  One of the things that occurred to me on Friday night of last week was just how high love really is.  I have read 1 Corinthians 13 many times, but this time through, I was struck by just how high "True Love" really is!   

"Love is patient and ^*xfkind; love ^*xgdoes not envy or boast; it ^*xhis not arrogant  5 or rude. It ^*xidoes not insist on its own way; it ^*xjis not irritable or resentful;  6 it ^*xkdoes not rejoice at wrongdoing, but ^*xlrejoices with the truth. 7 ^*xmLove bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, ^*xeendures all things."

As a sinful human being, this kind of love is really outside of my reach to grasp.  I cannot by my own efforts attain to it.  I must receive this Love in my heart. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 5:5: 

"5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

Notice that God's love is not something that we come up with, it is a gift.  As I realized my "powerlessness" to obtain this kind of love, it became, and is becoming more and more apparent that I must go to Jesus to receive this kind of love:  

 "18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.  19 We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?"

Also notice that when we receive His love into our hearts we love those around us as well.  The love that I need is from Jesus.  I can only get it from Him.  The question then comes:  Are we going to Him to get this love?

Even When Things Don't Go As Expected

Today has been a great day overall.  My family and I had waffles for supper and they were great.  I guess the question of the night is:  What happens when things don't turn out like I expect?  How should I respond?  There are many types of responses that I could have, but don't at the moment.  I don't have my job, but I am not discouraged.  I know that God has promised that He will either give me what I want or something better.  In this case it is something better.  There were several things that went differently than I thought that they would.  However, even though that was the case, they were always counterbalanced by good things.  For example, even when I didn't find another html book, I was reminded to be thankful for the one I already had.  As far as the job goes, I was reminded last night that God can do anything!  He is so awesome! Also, the kids went to bed on time.    You see, God is teaching me that not getting what I want is a good thing! :)  There is only one huge verse that comes to mind when I think about today and that is Psalms 37:4 which says:  

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.^*n2  6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday." 

The Way God Works :)

Last night as I was about to go to bed, I was very tired.  I had just gotten done with prayer and as I prayed, I realized that my wife was still up.  It was late and I didn't want to have to tell her to come to bed.  Instead I prayed that God would help her come to bed, and He did!  No sooner did I say Amen and get into bed then the door to the bedroom came open and my wife came to bed.  Why am I saying this?  Because it only when we give up on our own resources that God can truly Work!  He does time and again.  There is as text that comes to mind as I type this:   
"2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:"

-Isaiah 45:2

Jesus goes in front of us!  This is a principle that plays itself out again and again.  He goes before us to the promised land.  If you are feeling discouraged this morning, I want you to know that Jesus goes before you.  Are you concerned about a job lost?  Jesus goes before you!  Are you wondering how you are going to live the Christian life today?  Jesus goes before you!  Don't be discouraged!  Jesus goes before us!  He is in charge of our life and planning out our days!  Give Him Your Heart this morning, and He will go before you!  He will lead the way each and everyday if you will ask Him.  Follow Him!  He will lead the way!  

Today I want to see Him work!  I want to watch Him do what I never could or will be able to do.  I want to see the Master work and use me in His service.  There is a song that is playing that says "Come and follow Me!" Each and everyday Jesus will lead the way!  Today as you go through your day, remember that He is leading.  

For those who are interested here is a link to a sermons on getting to know Jesus:


More about Jesus Sermons  


My prayer for you is that you will be blessed by these sermons.  I really enjoy them.


He goes before us!   In closing, remember this story:  The children of Israel had been led to the red sea.  There was no where to go but into the sea.  This looked like a difficult place to be in.  There was no where they could go with the Egyptian army behind them.  Are you in one of those positions today?  Are you confused on where you should go?   Know that He goes before you.

" And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.^*n1  14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.  15 ¶And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: 16 But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.  "

-Exodus 14:13-16

 

Learning the Lesson of Surrender

How many times will it take me falling on my face before I realize that You Jesus are the one who gives me the victory.  I am starting to learn that it is not until I hold out the white flag and ask You to make things happen, that they actually happen.  Victories in my life only happen when I hoist the white flag and allow You to be in charge.  An example of this very thing was this evening when I wanted to go to the book store.  I was getting frustrated because it wasn't going to work out, but then I came to the point where I surrendered to You and Your Will, instead of my own.  It was really interesting because as I was driving there was a sermon on surrender.  When I let You be in charge, You made a way where there didn't seem to be a way.  You changed my heart!  I chose to give the battle to You and You won!!!!  Thank You Dear Jesus:)  Then you allowed me to talk to a good friend of mine, Matthew Zupke, and Bobby at taco bell.  I think that those moments are good ones.  I like how Jesus puts it in John 3:3: 
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Always it isn't until we completely give up on saving ourselves, and relying on our own efforts to get us through, that we experience the grace of God.  The breaking point is where it all happens.  The moment we surrender, Jesus can do the impossible.  He only asks the impossible of us, so that we will see that it is exactly that and ask Him to do it for us.  Friend, if you are struggling right now with the impossible, I want to encourage you to give everything to Jesus.  "How do you do that?" You ask,  By coming to the end of your own resources and humbly asking Him to do it for you.  Remember His promise in Matthew 7:7-11:

 "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:   8  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.   9  Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?   10  Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?   11  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"

When we ask God to help us He will do just that!  Let us hold onto His Promise.  Let us ask for the Holy Spirit.  Let us ask for a Christlike character.  Let us ask for a new Heart.  Jesus desires to give us these things too! :)

Different Perspectives….

Yesterday was really a stretch for me and I was blessed.  I still don't know if I got the job or not, but God is good, and He keeps re-assuring me that He is there.  This morning I woke up at 2 am because of my wonderful daughter Mercy.  She came into our room.  I later found out that she wasn't feeling that good, and was fighting yet another virus.  Last night I must have stayed up too late, because I almost fell asleep at the computer.  I was reading my Bible this morning and discovered that each chapter had little Introductions to it.  I managed to take a look at the introduction to Matthew.  The description said that the Book was originally entitled:  "According to Matthew".  I think that this is really neat because it tells us just how much perspective plays into things.  This is the Gospel According to Matthew.  The book looks at the Life of Jesus from Matthew's perspective.  This reminds me that we all see things differently.  The only safe guide that we have is the Bible. 

Perspective on Christianity and Life