Are You in a Position to be Blessed?

When I was a boy growing up in the Deep South, I occasionally went fresh water fishing in the bayous near my home. As directed by the more experienced fishermen, I learned to cast a top water fly close to the appropriate target in the hopes of attracting a large mouth bass; likely under a low hanging branch or fallen tree. Over the years, I was as successful as my companions and considered myself an able fly fisherman

Many years later, I moved to Georgia, near the Florida border. As I met new people, I noticed that many of my friends had large stuffed bass on their walls, much larger than those I had caught in my home state. Soon I had the opportunity to go fishing with a friend from church. This older gentleman, an experienced and successful angler, used an entirely different method than I had learned. Rather than casting flies on top of the water, he used sinking lures that he cast near the bank and retrieved rhythmically, raising and lowering the lure in the water as he reeled it in. Sure enough, that morning he caught a prize bass.

What I discovered was that, despite years of fishing, I didn’t know much about catching the big ones. And to top it off, I had not been fishing in the best place! Let’s just say that, in Georgia and Florida, five to ten pound bass are much more common than where I come from.

I am reminded of the story of a young man who needed a job badly. Day after day, he prayed for something to show up in the mail, but no offer came. He was just about flat broke when he cried out to God in anguish, pleading for a job. Suddenly, he heard a voice, clearly and distinctly: “Fill out an application and send it in.”

My point is that we need to put ourselves in a position where God can bless us. The scriptures offer numerous examples of saints whom God instructed to move to a place of receiving.

If you visit any warehouse, you’ll notice that there is both a receiving dock for incoming freight and a shipping dock for outgoing packages. Why? Simply because the receiving dock is organized and prepared to receive goods and then process them. If inbound cargo were to arrive at the shipping dock, it would disrupt the flow of materials.

Are you expecting goods but working some place other than the “Receiving Dock?” And, if so, have you thought about relocating to a place where God is more likely to bless you? God’s children need to be prepared to receive.

If you are a gifted mathematician, shouldn’t you attend MIT, Stanford, or a similar place where the instruction you need is offered? If you want to learn Italian, shouldn’t you consider a semester in Italy, where the finer points of the language are used? To carry the point to the obvious, if you want to swim, find a pool and jump in.

The scriptures contain many examples of God instructing His children to go to a place of blessing. In 2 Timothy 3:16, The Lord tells the thirsty Israelites to “Make this valley full of ditches.” In other words, prepare to receive what you want: water. If they had not prepared, what would they do when the water arrived?

In John 21:1-6, Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, James, and John had been fishing all night without anything to show for it. In the morning, Jesus told them to “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get plenty of them!” (Living Bible) They simply needed to obediently put themselves in a position to be blessed. If you have a fear of failure, just remember that you’re not responsible for the outcome, you’re just responsible for obeying.

Acts 1:4 tells us that the apostles were to wait in a particular place, Jerusalem, for the blessing of the Holy Spirit. “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise ….”

You may feel that where you are is really not where God wants you to be. A good indicator of being in the wrong place would be an unhealthy emotional climate, where your skills are not used fully. You may decide that you would be better off elsewhere, perhaps in a place more fitting with Christian values.

As the bride of Christ, you should “fit in with your husband's plans.” (1 Peter 3:1, The Living Bible) Accept that God wants to fulfill His purposes in your life, including giving you the desires of thine heart. (Psalm 37:4) Then, actively cooperate with the Lord about getting to the place of blessing. Like Paul, Timothy, Mark, and many others, be a fellow laborer with Christ.

“And if you do as I say in this letter, then you, too, will be full of joy, and so will we.” (1 John 1:4, The Living Bible.)

Source: By Curtis C. Mosley © 2003
http://www.livingthesolution.com/positiontobeblessed.htm

Don't be an avoider!

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature am a slave to the law of sin.
—Romans 7:21-25

At times, most of us avoid doing what we instinctively know is good. It’s funny how this works: We avoid things that could benefit our lives and run toward those things that could be destructive.

For example, many of us know we should be eating more nutritious foods to benefit our health, but we avoid the discomfort of changing our habits of cooking. Or, some of us know we need to exercise more, but avoid the discomfort of having to change our schedule in order to do so.

When it comes to spiritual disciplines, like prayer, studying the Bible or meditating on God’s Word, we often avoid doing what we know we should do. In all areas of life, too often we seek the things that can hurt us and while we should embrace the things that can benefit our lives, we don’t.

Somebody once said to me, “The things we avoid are usually the things we need to embrace.” I’ve thought about that quite a bit, and I agree with the statement. The Scriptures are our guide in this area. The Bible is clear that we should be doing everything in our power to embrace those things that will bring God’s blessing into our lives. For example, the Apostle Paul said both “Flee temptation” and “Whatever you do, do all in the name of Jesus.”

Now is the time to take a strong stand against those realities that can damage your life or detract you from experiencing the purposes of God. Resolve not to be an avoider. Don’t put off anything that could bring you closer to what God has in store for you!

Seeking and looking

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 2:1-5

I realize I am guilty of looking but not really seeing. Right in front of me, God’s wisdom sits like jewels of heaven ready and waiting to be captured and used. Too often, I “drive” through life not looking left or right but speeding ahead to my next stop. If we aren’t looking carefully, we’ll miss all God has. Wisdom is often found amongst things not easily seen, yet right there all along, to be discovered when you seek it. Today, be reminded that Jesus said, “Seek and you shall find.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

Have a blessed day!

The Passion of God

God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us

Romans 5:8

Personally, I have a passion for backpacking-vacations, my hubee Tepho, my Performing Arts team, my DATEr, walking on the beach, and off course God. Sometimes I will spend 3-4hours per day for practise, or work extra days to afford a vacation on the beach in Bali and I will not miss Naughty Nuri's. Passion usually involves a deep love and a deep sacrifice for something or someone.

What's your passion? What do you think about during the day and dream about at night? What are you willing to love deeply and love sacrificially?

I wonder for a moment what is the passion of God. Then the answer comes to me. You and I are the passion of God. God has a one-track mind. He loves me. He created me. He gives me life and breath. He brings me new life through the sacrificial death of Jesus.

With His love and His Holy Spirit, He passionately pursues me. Isn't it nice to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you are loved with the passion of God?

Is it too difficult?

Jeremiah 32:27

"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?"

Have you ever found yourself in an overwhelming or daunting situation that seemed impossible to understand or face? Is it difficult to comprehend the plan or the purpose behind what you are going through? Do you find yourself asking, “Why Lord?” Do you sometimes plead with God, “I don’t know what to do or how to do it. I need You to make it through this!” … Yeaahhh, I feel it now.

Personally, I have been in this position more times than I can count. I jump into an adventure full force thinking I have everything I need to make it happen, only to find out that I have merely a part of what is needed to do the job - not all of it. I am in over my head.

Life is sometimes like a test because we honestly believe we have it all together only to discover that some life circumstances are not on our radar and are certainly not part of the study guide. I have come to realize that these “tests” lead us to a deeper understanding of our need for God.

Luke 12:12 promises, “For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say." I know that I am driven to seek God when I lose sight of what to do and I feel lost. He is our provider of ideas and the author of purpose in our lives - hence the word Inspiratio or inspiration.

Dear Sweet Father,
I know that You are with us at all times as the Holy Spirit gives us the thoughts and words we need to meet Your purpose for our lives. I have to admit I often I try to handle life on my own instead of trusting Your words and Your Spirit to guide me. Help me to fully rely on You, Lord, as a student in the school of life and to trust You with my “tests” knowing that I can’t “pass” without Your power and presence. Bless my Project Manager and strengthen him with Your awesome power. Thank You for loving and saving me and thank You for giving me the answers when I need them. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Time Machine or Forgiveness

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9

A question : “Wouldn’t we all wish we had a time machine so that we could fix some of the problems we caused or mistakes we made in the past?” I’ve thought about that question quite a bit. I have to admit having a time machine would be a good thing to have, because I would love to have some “do-overs,” if given the chance.

Does anyone have a time machine? I think we could all use one. We all have some cleaning up that we could do. Unfortunately, time machines don’t exist. This is why we need forgiveness.

Jesus says that once we come before Him and confess our sins, He wipes the slate clean. He actually moves our sin and brokenness far from His heart, and looks on us as though we had never sinned.

That’s different than the time machine idea, isn’t it? A time machine depends on our fixing things that might help us feel better about ourselves. On the other hand, forgiveness leads to transformation of our hearts and lives by giving us a sense of freedom that goes beyond comparison. While “do-overs” would do us good, we need forgiveness more! We need freedom, not regret!

Writing God's Law

I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people”

Hebrews 8:10

When we have our child still young, we mark out clear boundaries, and as the child matures into adolescence, we begin pulling up those boundaries just a little at a time. As they graduate from high school and move into college, most of the boundaries are gone, and we pray with all our might that they will remember where those boundaries are.

I believe the Holy Spirit taps on our children’s hearts, and warns them not to cross the boundaries set by their parents. Sometimes they will proceed to cross the boundaries anyway. That’s when the shock comes in. It might be in the form of discipline and it might be in the form of living with some very unpleasant consequences.

In the Old Testament, God wrote the Law (the Ten Commandments) on tablets of stone, but in the New Testament, He wrote the Law of Love on our hearts. Isn’t that our prayer? Yes, we have to spell out the boundaries for our children and point them in the right direction when they are young. But as they move into adulthood, we pray the boundaries will be written on their hearts.

Consider the boundaries listed below:

-Be careful what you see.
"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness“ Matthew 6:22, 23

-Be careful what you love.
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money“ Mathew 6:24.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” Proverbs 5:23

-Be careful who you listen to.
“My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body” Proverbs 5:20-22

-Be careful what you say.
“Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips” Proverbs 5:24

-Be careful where you go.
“Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil” Proverbs 5:26, 27

-Be careful whom you choose for close friends.
Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character" 1 Corinthians 15:33

In His Eyes - Part 1

Psalm 139:14-15

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be”

Sering banget gw denger dari temen-temen kantor, temen-temen hang-out atau dari komunitas-komunitas lainnya yang gw terjun di dalamnya klo mereka hidup di dalam gambar yang buruk, yang secara sengaja tercipta karena kegagalan/kebodohan/kelemahan mereka. I want to share some good news with you. God can set you free to be all He created you to be. A healthy self-image is not rooted in pride and it does not exalt self above others. In Romans 12:3, Paul clearly says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” Be realistic in your opinion of yourself. Success comes when we learn to accept God’s evaluation instead of our own, when we give Him permission to make us what He created to be and when we begin to understand who we are in His eyes.. How? Let’s look at six steps we can take to understand who we are in the eyes of God.

Step one: Check the label.
We can judge a product’s potential and value by looking at the one who created it and God does not make cheap imitations of anything. You are valuable simply because you were created by the hand of God. I am here to tell you that God is not mad at you! His design of you and plan for your life is second to none. He paid the highest price that could be paid – for you. To cower or crawl in inferiority is to say to God, “You made a mistake when you made me.” God doesn’t make mistakes, friend. He never has to say, “Oops!” We were created in His likeness and are valuable to God. God knows my name and loves me. I am His masterpiece and have been validated by God Himself. Wow! That is quite a label, mates!

Step two: Embrace the plan.
God created you in response to a unique plan He has for your life. You can discover that plan by reading the Bible, God’s instruction manual for your life. The Bible is powerful and will allow us to understand who we are in God’s eyes - when we consistently read, memorize and apply it in our daily life.

In His Eyes - Part 2

Psalm 139:14-15

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be”

Step three: Be yourself.
We should always be looking for something new to learn, an area where we can grow and changes that need to be made. Sit down with your mate or close friend and ask for a realistic evaluation of your strengths and weaknesses. Constantly search for gifts and abilities and then take one of those abilities and work on it. Don’t be afraid of change. It is a sign of life and of growth. Change what needs to be changed, accept what you cannot change and quit whining about it! I know so many women who wasting so much life trying to be something they were never created to be – kind of like a hand trying to be a toe. We need to stop questioning God’s design and kicking against the plan. Learning to see your self through the eyes of God is like “carving away” everything that is not part of the original design – God’s plan – and then learning how to accept what remains.

Step four: Guard your mind.
Scripture is very clear on the point that the mind is the main battlefield in spiritual warfare and is especially important in the battle of discovering who we are in Christ.

Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.”
Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

We are bombarded on all sides by the media, family and friends, co-workers and even enemies. They all have a certain identity that they want to assign to us. We have a choice. No one makes us feel inferior without our permission. We will become what we allow our heart and mind to dwell on. An old saying says it well. ”You can’t keep a bird from flying over your head but you can keep it from building a nest in your hair.” In other words, it is impossible to avoid destructive thinking entirely. We will be tempted. We will have negative thoughts and temptations, but we do not have to allow them to dwell in our mind. God has given us a “garbage disposal” for the mind.

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”

Step five: Control your tongue.
Our words either build up or tear down. Scripture tells us not to curse others because they are made in the image of God. So are we. We need to apply this truth to our own life. Psalm 141:3. “Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

In our own lives, we need to stop putting ourselves down and in the lives of others, we need to encourage and look for reasons to praise God. We must learn to celebrate the good in each other. Words are like seeds. What we plant will grow. If we sow destructive, critical words, we will reap a life that is negative and critical but if we sow words of truth, we will reap a life of peace and purpose, knowing who we are in His eyes.

Step six: Be Patient
Today, you can take the first step toward gaining a new perspective of who you are in Christ. Our Father says it this way in Philippians 1:6, “And I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns.”

Things God Won't Ask

1. God won't ask what kind of car you drove; He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.
2. God won't ask the square footage of your house; He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.
3. God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet; He'll ask how many you helped to clothe.
4. God won't ask what your highest salary was; He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.
5. God won't ask what your job title was; He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of our ability.
6. God won't ask how many friends you had; He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.
7. God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived; He'll ask how you treated your neighbors.
8. God won't ask about the color of your skin; He'll ask about the content of your character.
9. God won't ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation; He'll lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven and not to the gates of Hell.

A Mighty Warrior - Mom who is praying

“I have no greater joy than to know that my children are walking in the truth.”

3 John 1:4

Proverbs 31 introduces us to the mother whose children rise up and call her blessed, as a “wife of noble character”, “an excellent wife" and “a capable, intelligent, and virtuous woman.”

The actual Hebrew word for excellent or virtuous is chayil and is sometimes interpreted as “virtuous, boldly courageous, powerful, mighty warrior.” The mother whose children rise up and call her blessed is a warrior who battles in prayer for the hearts, minds, and souls of her children. She prays a hedge of protection around them and stands in the gap when they don’t know how to pray for themselves. She meets the enemy head on, dressed in the armor of God with the sword of the spirit (the word of God) drawn and ready for action. We may never know the many times that the enemy’s schemes against our children were thwarted by the power of our prayers.

As a mother, you may feel at times that your burden for you child seems more than you can bear. Peter tells us to “cast all our cares upon Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). He cares for your children, too. No matter how much you love your children, God loves them more.

It's just an idea … you can make a 4 x 6 laminated card with prayers that your children will:
· Know Christ as Savior early in life. (Psalm 63:1, 2 Timothy 3:15)
· Have a hatred for sin. (Psalm 97:10)
· Be caught when guilty. (Psalm 119:71)
· Be protected from the evil one in each area of their lives: spiritual, emotional, and physical (John 17:15)
· Have a responsible attitude in all their interpersonal relationships (Daniel 6:3)
· Respect those in authority over them. (Romans 13:1)
· Desire the right kind of friends and be protected from the wrong friends. (Proverbs 1:10-11)
· Be kept from the wrong mate and saved for the right one. (2 Corinthians 6:14-17)
· Be kept pure until marriage (as well as the one they marry). (1 Corinthians 6:18-20)
· Learn to totally submit to God and actively resist Satan in all things. (James 4:7)
· Be single-hearted, willing to be sold out to Jesus Christ. (Romans 12:1-2)
· Be hedged in so they cannot find their way to wrong people or wrong places and that the wrong people cannot find their way to them. (Hosea 2:6)

A mother wears many hats during the years of raising her children. And while we take off those hats one-by-one as they grow and mature, there is one that will always remain – the hat of a mother who prays.