Withstanding the Storms

Finances and employment have been very difficult lately! Many people are hurting as never before, encountering seemingly overwhelming obstacles. Its nice to know that no matter how bad things are, we can withstand the Storms of Life if we have something solid to rely upon. Jesus puts it this way:

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out demons? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Mat 7:24 Therefore whoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it. The Webster Bible

Be wise, be aware of the storms, but build on the rock!!!!!

Mirror, Mirror

Halloween may be past, but this image of a "vampire kitten" grabbed my attention today. I know its just a kitten, but if you look long enough it really does look sort of like a vampire. I guess we really do see what we want to see and that's that.

In Matthew chapter 7, Jesus discusses attitudes when he says:

Mat 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Mat 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and the measure which ye give, shall be measured to you again.
Mat 7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thy own eye?
Mat 7:4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thy eye; and behold, a beam is in thy own eye?
Mat 7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thy own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Webster Bible

Its one thing to talk about a kitten, but quite another when we refer to ourselves. Do we see others one way and then make a whole set of standards when we think about what WE DO? When you look in the mirror, what sort of person is REALLY LOOKING BACK AT YOU?

Don't Worry, BE HAPPY!

Not a very good picnic spot, is it? Why? Because I would worry about it falling on me, that's why. Yet, its probably been there thousands upon thousands of years and will still be there hundreds of years after my great grandchildren are a dim memory. I like what Jesus had to say about worry, because it deals with a central issue of Christianity... status. IF we are the children of God, then GOD will take care of us and therefore worry is a lack of trust.

Matthew 6:24-34 says: "

24 'None is able to serve two lords, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to the one, and despise the other; ye are not able to serve God and Mammon.
25 'Because of this I say to you, be not anxious for your life, what ye may eat, and what ye may drink, nor for your body, what ye may put on. Is not the life more than the nourishment, and the body than the clothing?
26 look to the fowls of the heaven, for they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into storehouses, and your heavenly Father doth nourish them; are not ye much better than they?
27 'And who of you, being anxious, is able to add to his age one cubit?
28 and about clothing why are ye anxious? consider well the lilies of the field; how do they grow? they do not labour, nor do they spin;
29 and I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these.
30 'And if the herb of the field, that to-day is, and to-morrow is cast to the furnace, God doth so clothe — not much more you, O ye of little faith?
31 therefore ye may not be anxious, saying, What may we eat? or, What may we drink? or, What may we put round?
32 for all these do the nations seek for, for your heavenly Father doth know that ye have need of all these;
33 but seek ye first the reign of God and His righteousness, and all these shall be added to you.
34 Be not therefore anxious for the morrow, for the morrow shall be anxious for its own things; sufficient for the day [is] the evil of it.YLT

In other words... Don't Worry, BE HAPPY!

Home

When I saw this picture I thought of upstate New York where I grew up. Florida is a nice place to live, but it really doesn't have a "fall" season, yet it feels like "home". Funny, but I feel a little confused about the concept of "home". I have lived in a quite a number of places and after awhile they all felt like home, but the best one is yet to come (heaven). Although Linda and I have been blessed with some nice dwellings, we never have lived in a mansion. I wonder how I will feel about Florida when I get there?

"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." John 14:2

Enough already

When I saw this picture I immeadiately thought of politics. I don't know about you, but I am tired of listening to people talking politics. I do however, really like the current Einstein quote on the blog:

"If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut. "

Now, if I could only learn this.... I would be doing great!!!!!

Hello, are you listening?

When you have you mind made up about something, does it take something as powerful as a bolt of lightning to get you to change? I don't mean something trivial like what shoes you want to wear today (although for some of us this may seem very important). Instead, something foundational like your commitment to your spouse, your country or God? Saul of Tarsus had the belief he was absolutely right and did something about it; he was a zealot for the Jewish religion. God however, had other plans for him. I really like the story of God's intervention in Saul's (later Paul's) life because God knew his heart and didn't reject him even though Saul was doing something wrong.

The Bible says: "
Act 9:1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest
Act 9:2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Act 9:3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
Act 9:4 And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"
Act 9:5 And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Act 9:6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."

This passage is quite dramatic, but think of God's intervention with Elijah where he spoke to him in a still small voice. Hummm, perhaps God knows you well enough to do whatever it takes to get your attention, whether it be large or small. Look around, God is speaking to us every day, in little things as well as the grand. The question is: Are we listening?

What now?

Please listen to the lesson "What do we do after the election?". It is on the Westside church podcast list on the right (down a page). I wish I had said this!