The Trouble Planter

"A troublemaker plants seeds of strife;
gossip separates the best of friends." Proverbs 16:28 NLT

Have you ever come across someone like that? Someone that seems to be determined to make trouble? And not always by being a gossiper, which of course is bad enough. But just by being themselves. They're friendly, happy-go-lucky and then they leave you and you find out after they left you, they've told someone how upset they are. Go figure.

God doesn't want us to be that way. He understands that we have our good days and our bad days, but don't go around making trouble between yourself and another or pitting one person against another person. Your word needs to be your word.

"Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body." Proverbs 16:24 NLT

In the Driver's Seat

"Take control of what I say, O Lord,
and guard my lips.
Don’t let me drift toward evil
or take part in acts of wickedness.
Don’t let me share in the delicacies
of those who do wrong." Psalm 141:3-4 NLT

I like this prayer. I like it because I can relate to it. I know that apart from God in my life, or should I say, the life of God in me, I can do no good thing. I realize this. I have hit too many walls and have had too many failures. No amount of will power or determination can keep me out of trouble. I have tried to play God too many times, only to fail miserably. Playing God is a job description that I cannot fulfill.

For many years my reason for not wanting to sin was that I feared going to hell. I even felt this way after I was "saved." When I realized that according to the Bible I have been saved, my motive for not wanting to sin changed. It wasn't to get into heaven. I'm there. It's because I love Jesus and want to live in perfect harmony with Him. He paid the penalty for my sin. He gave me a new life. His spirit lives inside of me. I am accepted, loved and holy. I want my life to reflect my "new nature."

What about you? Do you realize who you are in Christ Jesus? It works better--no, it really cannot work at all--until you put Him in the driver's seat of your life.

Hang on! The ride is something else.

Sonshine

"I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name, O Most High." Psalm 9:1-2 NLT

What a GREAT passage to start out our week with, don't you think?! Sometimes we tend to think, "Oh great. Another Monday."

You know what I've been trying to do? And not just on Mondays. I've been trying to remember to praise God for this new day. To thank Him for giving me the gift of another day. Thanking Him for a day full of promise. It's part of my prayer life. I do it as I'm waking or while I'm driving. It puts me in a wonderful frame of mind.

You know it is. A new day IS a gift. A chance to make it whatever you want it to be. You can go into it with drudgery or with praise and thanks giving. You make your day. If you have a bad, poor me, attitude--you will get that--bad, poor me, kind of day.

But if you go into your day with this is going to be a great day!--I'm going to serve the Lord in where the place is that He has me in today. I'm going to bring glory to Him--your day will be full of sunshine.

This doesn't mean that irritating, bad or frustrating things won't happen. But they may not seem so bad if you look at them with a different perspective. Do you understand what I mean?

So I challenge you to try it. To praise Him with ALL your day, with ALL of your heart, body, soul. I bet people will notice the change in your attitude and more importantly, you should too. God is good ALL the time. ALL the time, God is good.

"A glad heart makes a happy face..." Proverbs 15:13 NLT

Being Alive

"I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will sing your praises before the gods.
I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.
I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;
for your promises are backed
by all the honor of your name.
As soon as I pray, you answer me;
you encourage me by giving me strength.
Every king in all the earth will thank you, Lord,
for all of them will hear your words.
Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways,
for the glory of the Lord is very great.
Though the Lord is great, He cares for the humble,
but He keeps His distance from the proud.

Though I am surrounded by troubles,
you will protect me from the anger of my enemies.
You reach out your hand,
and the power of your right hand saves me.
The Lord will work out His plans for my life—
for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
Don’t abandon me, for you made me." Psalm 138 NLT

This weekend, meditate upon this passage. If you read it line by line, and meditate upon the full meaning, your soul will start getting that glowing, warm sensation. Then it will travel into your heart and mind and before you know it--POW--you will become ALIVE with the celebration of who Jesus is and what HE has done for and in your life.

You're going to have a GREAT weekend!

Be Quick!

"Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry." James 1:19 NLT

I kept digging a hole for myself. The more that I tried to explain myself, the more the other person resisted. I started to get a little hot. No, I was getting angry. The Lord brought the above passage from James to my mind.

It's not always easy to be quick to listen. That means you have to stop talking. You have to pay attention, full attention. To people that you don't always relate to or like. But God gives us the ability to do what He commands when we humble ourselves and ask for His help.

Are you digging a hole? Are you getting angry? Try slowing down your jaws and be quick to listen. It works!

Touching Him

"A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of His robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.

'Who touched me?' Jesus asked.

Everyone denied it, and Peter said, 'Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.'

But Jesus said, 'Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.' When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of Him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched Him and that she had been immediately healed. 'Daughter,' He said to her, 'your faith has made you well. Go in peace.' Luke 8:43-48 NLT

The crowd was following Jesus. Pressing in from all sides, eager to get a look of the miracle worker. She saw Him. She was an outcast religiously and socially. Because of her physical condition, the woman was "unclean." Anyone she touched would be unclean.

She had spent her life savings on doctors who could not help her. She was helpless. Her last chance was Jesus. He was her only hope. Hidden in the crowd, she planned to touch Him. Just the hem of the Rabbi's robe. No one would notice. He had raised the dead. Perhaps just touching Him would heal her. She sees Him about to pass by. She reaches out and touches His robe. Then something happens that hasn't happened for twelve years. Her bleeding stops. She is healed!

Jesus feels the touch of faith from a needy person. He feels healing power leave His body. He demands to know who touched Him. No one fesses up. The woman knows she is had. Fearful of what Jesus might say or do, she falls on her knees in front of the Lord. She explains why she touched Him, and that she was healed. Did He yell at her, or scold her--for her--an unclean woman touching Him? No, He embraced her with love. He not only told her to go and live her life as a healed woman, but He pronounced peace on her. Perfect peace, well being, spiritually, physically and emotionally. He calls her His "Daughter."

Often we remember Jesus touching people and healing them. But this woman touched Jesus, and by an act of her faith and His love, was restored. The "crowd" pressed in for a look. She reached out to receive love.

The Bible says, that God rewards those who diligently seek Him. We are all unclean before God. It is only His touch on and in our lives, that makes us righteous in His sight.

Are you part of the crowd pressing in for a look? Come on, reach out and touch Jesus just as you are. He will not only heal you but offer you perfect peace, both now and forevermore.

Obstacle or Opportunity?

"So they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him. For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in a cemetery outside the town." Luke 8:26,27 NLT

Jesus had just calmed the storm that was threatening the very lives of his twelve disciples. He had just reached the shore. He wasn't even out of the boat when he was met by a very violent and out of control person. Not even out of the boat, and met with an obstacle. Or was it?

Jesus immediately confronted the situation, and turned an obstacle into an opportunity. He set the man free from demonic possession, gave him a ministry commission, and a new start on life. Jesus took a potentially volatile obstacle, and turned it into an opportunity for his love, and grace to fill a persons life.

I wonder how many times we see a situation as an obstacle, when God really sees it as an opportunity. Perhaps, it is an offense that has the potential to dived a relationship, family, or Church. The obstacle could be turned into an opportunity for God's love, forgiveness and restoration to take place. Perhaps it is a financial obstacle. Could it be an opportunity for greater faith in God to be manifested? Could it be an opportunity for a miracle?

What obstacle is facing you? Could it really be a great opportunity? With Christ it can!