Tenacity

It's amazing how much has happened over the past three months. In many ways this past Summer was the most difficult and the most enjoyable one I can remember. There were significant challenges to face and endure but through those challenges I was reminded of the tenacity that resides deep in my heart that once convinced that I have it right I won't back down. I think I'm fairly easy to get along with, and in some ways I'm probably a little to easy going, but once that inner tenacity is awakened there isn't anything that can persuade me to give up.

This tenacity isn't some mysterious inner strength that appears like some 'super power' when I need it. It comes from my faith in God and His power to move the mountains if I'll only ask Him to. It may take a while and it may be a bumpy ride, but I know that He is faithful and powerful and that's enough for me.

Trying to Seeing the End from the Middle

In my journey with Jesus I have recently found myself looking too far ahead and trying to predict the unpredicatable. In some ways it like I'm trying to see the future so that I can make decisions today that will create the conditions for the outcome I desire. While on the surface that may sound innocent enough I'm reminded again that what I really want in control. I want to control the future rather than live in the present because living in the present means that I have to trust someone else with the future.

Jesus said that His followers didn't need to worry about tomorrow because today had plenty of things to occupy our attention. So why is it that I struggle with this so much. Why worry about things that I can't do anything about? In the end it all comes down to trust. I trust God to do what's best but I'm also fearful that He won't do what I want Him to do. So the wrestling match goes on as I daily learn to let go of my will and let God's will become mine.

Life, it seems, is all about who's in charge.

Share your thoughts below.....

The Comfort of the Saints

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

It never ceases to amaze me that God uses ordianary people like us to make a difference in the lives of others. Within the past two weeks I have had people come up to me and tell me that the Spirit had placed me on their hearts and that they were praying for me. What they didn't know was that the things they told me that God had revealed to them didn't make any sense to them, but as they shared it was so perfectly capturing what I was going through that I was overwhelmed by the grace of God, a conspiracy of grace by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that brought three people together at different times but with a specific message that was needed to bring comfort.

I am truly humbled......

Has God been placing a burden on your heart for someone? Share it with them if possible.

Share you story of God's messengers that provided comfort in a time of need....

Fighting Against the Unseen

How many times have we encountered a difficult situation or challenge that came dressed as someone we love? Maybe a spouse, child, relative, or friend have risen up against us in some way and our first, and most natural reaction is to fight or possible take control of the situation. What often come from that reaction is best described as squeezing gelatine in your hand; a lot of effort but nothing to show for it. 

God gives us wise counsel when we face these threats in Ephesians 6:12 "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

In order to fight these spiritual forces we have to rely on the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us, because if we don't we risk doing more harm than good. This doesn't mean that we won't have to confront behavior that is destructive or harmful, but the Holy Spirit will enable and empower us to keep the right focus in the right areas. 

What are some ways that you enlist the Holy Spirit's help when you're facing a tough situation with a family member or friend?

A Hole in Your Soul

There are times in life when situations find you that you didn't ever expect to happen to you. These are the things that happen to 'other people' and when we suddenly become the 'other people' we feel as though someone or something has ripped a hole in our soul. We lose our bearings for a little while and fumble around trying to make sense of things that have change your life forever. 

I have always looked at the disciples on the night that Jesus was arrested and after He was crucified and I wonder why they acted the way they did. But when you expereince something so profound as the loss of someone you loved or some other dramatic upheaval in your life you lose all sense of direction for a while and you're forced to retreat and reassess just what is real and what you believe. 

But I'm comforted by these words in Lamentations 3:14-26

14  I have become the ridicule of all my people––Their taunting song all the day.

15  He has filled me with bitterness, He has made me drink wormwood.

16  He has also broken my teeth with gravel, And covered me with ashes.

17  You have moved my soul far from peace; I have forgotten prosperity.

18  And I said, "My strength and my hope Have perished from the LORD."

19  Remember my affliction and roaming, The wormwood and the gall.

20  My soul still remembers And sinks within me.

21  This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.

22  Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.

23  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

24  "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!"

25  The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.

26  It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD.

God knows how I feel. Amen.

Share your thoughts.......

First Steps

I can remember it like it was yesterday. It was a warm spring Sunday and as usual my mom was taking my sister and I to church. There wasn't anything extraordinary about this particular Sunday. But God had something in store for me that day. He knew long before that on this day a conspiracy of grace was about to lay hold of my heart. God the Father was going to reveal the mystery of the cross of Jesus to my heart through the Holy Spirit. 

I can't remember what the message was about but I can remember that something, someone had awakened something deep within me that day. I suddenly realized as a 10-11 year old boy that I needed a Savior. I was raised in church and knew the stories and their meaning better than most of the Sunday school teachers who taught me. But all of that knowledge was without fruit until it dropped into my heart that day in a loud thud that prompted a response in faith. 

I can vividly recall my yellow short sleeved, button down shirt and the tears that filled my eyes as I made my way to the altar of that little church which met in a VFW hall that smelled funny from all of the meetings they held there. The altars were old wooden benches that were set out on an old orange carpet that was rolled out each Sunday and Wednesday to give the apprearance of a platform. 

That day none of those things mattered at all except one thing. Jesus had called me by name, a name that only He knew and that name was written down for all eternity by His blood. 

So started this pilgrim's passage.

How did your pilgrim's passage start? Share it here.........