No Relationship Journals

Journaling can be a refreshing experience.  Whether we journal our devotions, prayers or experiences - it can be rewarding to ponder our thoughts about God and our relationship with others. But the most important thing to remember is to always keep your focus on God. What is God trying to teach you in your relationship experiences.  1 Corinthians 13: 4-5 reminds us - "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way.  It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wrong." It could be said like this: do not keep a relationship journal.

Often in life, there are times when we must cope with sudden twists in our journey.  The people in your life can let you down without ever meaning to do so. Perhaps a harsh attitude of friction is detected, a glimmer of mistrust arises by another’s disconcerting action, or an abrupt word is spoken in the relationship.  What was once a caring and considerate relationship, quickly turns upside down spiraling out of control.  And healing and restoration need to take place.

The oxygen masks eject in front of us, the emergency lights begin to flash and the turbulence causes us to rethink if we will even make it out alive.  Typically, we are never prepared for the conflict caused by turbulence.  But we should assume personal responsibility and take necessary precautions.

Scripture teaches in Colossians 3: 13-14 - "Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.  Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.  Above all clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony."

When the unsteady and unsettling movement of turbulence arises in your travels through life, stop and refocus your attention back to your Heavenly Father who guards and keeps you at all times.  God cares deeply about every turn in your journey.  And He is at work, ordering your steps, and answering your prayers.  Simply trust Him.

An Honest Talk

Prayer is simply talking to God and letting God talk with you. I think it's time each of us have an honest talk with God.  We need to share our heart.

Daily we should consider confessing our sins to God in prayer.  We need an honest talk with God as we do a dear friend, and be completely upfront. Prayer and confession of your faults, sins, iniquities, and shortcomings to God allows you to come to God humbly with a pure heart. 

Man tends to exalt himself. The carnal side of us has a tendency to think more highly of ourselves than we ought.  And when we do, we take on the nature of Lucifer, the son of the morning who schemed to overthrow the throne of God in Isaiah 14. But on the other hand, when we stay humble before God, we realize we are nothing apart from Him and He is everything.

When we do not care how we live and conduct ourselves through life, we display the spirit of lawlessness. Romans 6:19 clearly outlines lawlessness as "one who walks his own way according to the flesh and their own ungodly lusts." This is totally against God's ways and only is characteristic of the enemy of our soul. I definitely do not want to mimic my enemy's character.

It is however, through daily prayer and confession to God that our heart cries out for the holiness of God. And it is only through a daily walk with Christ that He is able to change and transform our sinful nature. We can walk honestly before God and receive victory over sin.  But we must discipline our lives with a commitment to pray.  We must passionately seek God's face.  He is the only One able to set you free from your old life of sin.  So strive to be honest with God in prayer and allow Him the opportunity to shape you. This is where real change happens.  It begins with honesty in prayer.

Warning Ahead

There are times you will find a warning sign: Roadblock ahead. A storm may cause a large tree to be down across a roadway blocking the flow of traffic.  Or an accident may create a roadblock when the authorities stop all traffic or post bright orange road signs that detour you around the debris for safety purposes. Whatever the reason, a roadblock changes our pattern of direction.

Sometimes believers will face a roadblock to their financial giving to the House of the Lord.  One common roadblock is a change in the pattern of our heart called greed.  Scripture in Luke 12:15 encourages, "Be on guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." 

We know that Christ commands us to give. We also know that there are great blessings and rewards in giving unto the Lord.  As believers, we realize it is an act of obedience to give, yet sometimes we face a roadblock and giving seems hard to us.

We must realize that this earth is not our home.  Storing up treasure here where moth and rust destroys and thieves break in and steal - makes little sense.  Christ teaches us that where we place our treasure - that is where our heart is. (Matthew 6:19-20)

So let us daily reflect on the goodness of Christ our Savior and remember His grace and generosity toward us.  May we shun a heart of greed and walk in God's lovingkindness by maintaining a heart of giving. Blessing always follows.

Almighty God

Scripture in Revelation 1:8 shouts, "I AM Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." God is the first and the last. He was before everything. And none other are like Him. He is Jehovah God, who is Sovereign, Omnipotent and Eternal. And God is Almighty, forever. 

Our puny minds can in no way comprehend God. He formed the universe in 6 days. He made man in the likeness of His image from dust. He can take a withered hand, blind eyes or a broken heart and instantly restore them. He is God Almighty. Nothing is too hard for Him. He is before all things and by Him all things consist.

We cannot fathom the awesomeness and greatness of God. He can take a life that is black with sin and wash it white as snow. He can take a marriage or a relationship that has completely crumbled and put it back together again. He can take a body that is diseased and beyond hope, and heal it and make all things new. 

Absolutely nothing is too difficult for God. He is God Almighty. My Savior, My Shield, My Deliverer, My King.  He is everything. And without a doubt, He is all we need. Give Him honor today and ask Him to show you His greatness in the circumstances of life.

Fading

As we walk the Christian life we must be careful to stay on the right path and not drift back. The warning sign should read, "no drifting allowed."

 

The prophet Isaiah declares, "we all do fade and shrivel up like a leaf, and like a leaf, our sins sweep us away." (Isaiah 64:6)  This is a warning to the people of God to never allow the sins of this world to carry you away from the things of God. But notice Isaiah speaks of it as a process.

When you turn your heart away from God it does not happen overnight. When you walk away from your relationship with Christ and follow sin, it is not a quick and sudden dive into the world. It begins with small, subtle changes in your daily habits and behavior.

Perhaps at first you fall into the trap of prayerlessness. Life without prayer gives you calluses on your heart and creates an attitude that is independent of Christ.  It makes you careless concerning spiritual matters.  Perhaps you do not pick up the Word and feed yourself spiritually through the week but rely solely on the pastor to feed you on Sunday morning.  

At this point your spiritual man is starving for food to survive. But someone you rationalize that you are okay and continue in your ways.  Your once green and vibrant leaves now begin fading, drying and become shriveled up leaves.  You've been setup by the enemy of your soul who has used your lack of passion against you. You are now ready to be swept away by your own sins.

This is the process the adversary uses to defeat you. It is crucial to understand the warning the Scripture, as it will strike you powerless against the schemes of your enemy. Before you realize it, you will become dried and shriveled.  

 

Jesus said, I have overcome the world. And you are more than a conqueror through the blood of Jesus Christ. Determine today to set a watch and guard the garden of your heart. Let that garden sustain itself with the water and food of the Word. 

Beacons

We should hold tightly the principles of God's Word and strive to live a life pleasing to God, walking in lovingkindness toward others and shining brightly as beacons in a dark world.  Psalm 97 declares the righteousness of God. Verse 2 resounds, "Righteousness and judgement are the foundation of His Throne." One of the compound Hebrew names for Jesus is Jehovah-Tskidkenu, meaning He is our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6).

If I examine my life, my righteousness is as filthy rags, but God has declared that we are the "righteousness of God in Him."  Scripture in 2 Timothy 2:22 teaches us to pursue righteousness above all things. And the writer of Proverbs speaks wisdom clearly into our lives with His teaching, "Righteousness exalts a nation." (Proverbs 14:34)

Living a righteous life does not come naturally for us.  Mankind is carnal and selfish in his natural ways, but the spiritual man must press hard after the righteousness of God.  I have no righteousness of my own, but simply because of the righteousness of God and what Christ did on the cross of Calvary, God promises to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  

That means when we fall short or fail, God gives us another chance to accept His righteousness. Once we accept that righteousness, our lives should shine as beacons to the lost world around us.

Double Lines

One day I was driving and I noticed a team of workers painting a double yellow line on the adjacent road. I thought how often you and I overlook the meaning of the double line. This double yellow line actually marks the center roadway of a two way road and means that passing is prohibited. It is an alert to never cross to the left of the double yellow line.

God's Word also gives us such warnings in life. Sometimes we are looking for a quick and easy fix, a shortcut. If we move outside of our spiritual lane, we lose the path God has intended for us.  We lose sight of our destiny. And our visibility is not clear.

Proverbs 4:26-27 records, "Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. 26 Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. 27 Don't get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil."

Double yellow lines exist for a reason and sound a warning that this line should not be crossed due to low visibility.  The easiest way to avoid a head on collision is to stay in your lane and do not attempt to pass. We cannot see clearly when we disobey the rules.

Established

Which way should we go? Often, we say we want the divine direction of God, yet we jump ahead of God and make our own decisions.  Sometimes we are quick and hasty because we lack patience to wait on our Heavenly Father. But the truth is God cares deeply for us and desires to direct our every step.

The following is a prayer cry of the Psalmist to Almighty God. "May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us ---YES, establish the work of our hands." (Psalm 90:17)  You can clearly hear his words as he prays to the Father: O' God, let your favor rest on us, hover over us and dwell with us. And give us a firm foundation, root, ground, secure and establish the work of our hands. O' God, we declare: Yes, please establish our work that it not be in vain.

Our trust should be completely in our Heavenly Father to secure and establish our work and make it worthwhile.  We should ask God to send us and open doors for us. We should pray for favor to rest upon us and be sent forth to accomplish great and mighty things through His Hand. We must cry out to God daily for His smile of favor and blessing upon everything we set our hand to do. 

"The steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord", therefore, we should pray for the righteousness of God and that our feet be directed by God's will and purpose.

Seek Almighty God daily and allow His Holy Spirit to change your life and establish your work.

Find Peace

Finding peace is the result of being sold out to God. Scripture teaches, He is our peace. When we abide in Him and His Word abides in us - the result is the peace of God.

In Romans 6:6-7, Scripture records, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.” 

Before I prayed and committed my life to Christ I had sold my soul to sin. I was a slave to sin, and carnal in my ways. All I cared about was myself. My heart sought its own way and I was held captive to the things of this world. My desires were all about me. I was driven to please my flesh and serve the lusts of my own mind. There was a constant war within me and I had no peace. I was spiritually empty.

I now have peace and victory by the blood of the cross of Calvary. Christ redeemed my sin and I am delivered from the bondage of sin and death. According to 1 Corinthians 6:20, I have been bought with a price - the precious blood of Jesus. This new found relationship with God brings tremendous peace.

Walk daily in the peace of God. Remember the Spirit of God dwells within you.

The Storm

Storms arise often without warning.  The weather channel may predict a storm in time to warn those it impacts, but often we are not notified in advance of the effects of an forthcoming storm. It's unpredictable. And this can make us feel totally out of control.

The Psalmist realized that God was his undergirding strength in the time of tumultuous water and storms. The size and strength of the storm was impossible to see in advance. But Psalm 91:2 declares, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in Him will I trust." 

Do you realize that during the troubles of life God has promised to be your never-failing refuge?  We all face difficulty from time to time and in these times we often do not know what to do. A refuge is actually a harbor that protects from all impending danger.

We can become disheartened, frustrated, and greatly discouraged in the midst of trial. Life is full of heartache, broken relationships, failed marriages, job loss and financial trouble. Maybe your health is failing or you worry about a child that does not follow the Lord.  Whatever the circumstance - we must look to God for peace and strength.

Here is a promise, Jesus said, "I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world."  John 16:33

Trust in God's Faithfulness.  He will see you through.