Everyday MattersThere's a reason for everyday.
Despite the bad and the good, everyday matters. |
3/3/2021
God Watches Over YouWednesday Matters- March 3, 2021
Everyday Invisible Shepherd My friend Pastor Dave has gone to be with Jesus. But when his cancer returned, he told me how he felt a precious sense of the Lord’s presence. He shared from the book he was reading, “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks” by Dr. Timothy Laniak who reminds us that many of us have experienced the desperate isolation and cold darkness that Job describes in his memoir. Dr. Laniak and his wife had seasons in their life without the light of understanding or any sense of God's presence which tested their faith in an invisible Shepherd. For several years when their children were young and faced with disabilities and a shift in their life's direction, they entered tsalmavet [deadly darkness]. The light they longed for did not dawn as they expected. But slowly they did reemerge from the valley humbled and sobered because of John 1:5; “The Light shines through the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it” …everyday. 3/2/2021
God Works in the PainTuesday Matters- March 2, 2021
Everyday Valleys I had a season of depression and anxiety that I walked in for three months and it was such living hell that I actually had thoughts of, “Maybe it would be better if I wasn’t around.” But God brought me through this time and now I can honestly say I’m thankful for that season of darkness. It’s like the words I read by Dr. Timothy Laniak, “This journey through the shadows purges the soul of its pride and earthly attachment. Our challenge in dry and dark times is to respond in simple faith--to believe that the unseen Divine Shepherd is with us in our unlit valley. We grope in hope until rays of light begin to push the night away. Eventually, as Job confessed, 'He reveals mysteries from the darkness, and brings us into the light.’" Job 12:22 Having emerged from the dark valley I now have a more balanced response to the mountain tops. And I’m ready for more valleys, should the come because Jesus will never leave me…everyday. 3/1/2021
Holy Spirit FillingMonday Matters-March 1, 2021
Everyday Drunk What does mean to be righteous? Well, it means we are in right standing with God and that means we know who we are in Him…. loved, redeemed, not a mistake. Greater self-effort and determination will never liberate you. Shifting your focus will. This means letting God lead you and not your flesh. Again, in the Bible, Ephesians 5, tells us not to be drunk with wine but instead to be drunk with the Holy Spirit. When a person is drunk on alcohol, they feel, think and act differently. I’ve been there, done that. But the exact same is true when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we feel think and act differently. The Christian life is not the result of trying to act like a Christian; that’s only frustrating. The secret is developing our relationship with God empowered by the Holy Spirit. As God's Spirit fills us, we better understand who God really is. Our lives are changed from the inside out and good behavior is the end product…everyday. |
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