Only God Knows
Posted by John | Filed under Uncategorized
At church this morning, the sermon hit a nerve with me. It made me realize how often I form an opinion or judge people unfairly. And I am quick to judge, unfortunately. Who am I to pass judgement on anyone else? I realized that first of all regardless of what anyone says or does, no one knows what is in their heart…….only God knows. So to judge someone is so unfair because we always only know half the story…what we see on the outside, having no clue what is going on, on the inside and going on between that person and God.
If God judged me solely based on what HE saw on the outside without knowing what was going on in my heart and mind, I would be in a world of hurt. So many times I do stupid things, wrong things and beg HIM for forgiveness. I try so hard to not give in to my weaknesses, because my will and faith are strong but my flesh is weak. I am quick to anger and say things I regret to my loved ones.
So I decided today in church to think twice before I cast judgement so quickly on anyone and everyone solely based on what I see. I would never want God to judge me on that basis alone, so I am going to try to be conscious of that. My goal is to not judge anyone at all for anything they do because I don’t think I have the right and I certainly don’t have the “whole story.”
Adding vs counting
Posted by John | Filed under Uncategorized
Sometimes we get so busy adding up our troubles that we forget to count our blessings.
“Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20
Give
Posted by John | Filed under Uncategorized
Give God what’s right, not what’s left.
“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7
What prayer changes
Posted by John | Filed under Uncategorized
by John Fischer
Picture this. It’s a warm weekend day in Laguna Beach, California on one of the last weekends of summer, so the town is full of families and couples on holiday. On one of the busiest intersections for foot traffic, a homeless person is sitting, holding out his hat. He has a sign about being hungry next to which a Bible is propped up and open. Another sign reads, “God Bless You.” His T-shirt says, “Prayer Changes Things.”
My first inclination was to chide the man in my heart for making a mockery of his T-shirt message. If prayer changes things, then why hasn’t it changed things for you? But then the Lord chided me.
I was convicted. How many times have I neglected to carry around in my heart the homeless men, women and children who make up an ever expanding and often faceless community in just about every city. Why do I feel repulsed, annoyed, even angered as I avert my eyes from people like this?
My fears can also be rooted to the feeling of horror that I might “catch” or become infected with something if I faced into the eyes of someone living under these circumstances. Am I one hardship away from living on the street and joining the ranks of the homeless?
As with many of my fears, it is often out of my lack of understanding about the complexities of a situation such as homelessness that fuels my prejudices and apprehension about people who, in this account are homeless. Somehow, that gives me “permission” to act less compassionately towards a person — who is, after all, an on-going creation of God, as I am.
God never meant for anyone to judge anyone else, but rather to treat everyone who is made in the image of God with dignity and respect. We rejoice, truly, in the fact that it is God’s business to bring people to Himself. We know that acts of love will change lives and hearts as He asks us to simply walk along aside.
I do not know how prayer may have changed things in this man’s life, but I know his T-shirt has changed mine
Dreams
Posted by John | Filed under Uncategorized
The bigger your dreams, the bigger your God will show Himself to be.
“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Genesis 18:14
Stretcccccccccccchhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Posted by John | Filed under Uncategorized
Nothing ruins the truth like stretching it.
“”Whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” Luke 16:10
God is Awake
Posted by John | Filed under Uncategorized
Do your best, and then sleep in peace. God is awake.
“He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalm 121:3-
Please stop for just a moment and think…………
Posted by John | Filed under Uncategorized
I had recently mentioned a dear friend’s mother in law diagnosed with cancer. Please keep them in your prayers as she has gotten worse Very quickly.
I actually stopped and stepped “off the rat race” for a moment to think about my friend and her family. I thought about how wonderful it will be to some day soon be in the Presence of God. And it will be soon….soon in the context of 1 or 50 years is soon when compared to “eternity.”
The second thought that came to me is that I take my family, children, friends and business associates……..all God’s Blessings……….for granted far too often.
Today, I am asking Jesus to please help me to continue to realize how precious life is and how blessed I am to be surrounded by people I love and who love and support me. I also pray that I don’t take these blessings for granted by showing them how much I care.
Developing Long-Term Relationships
Posted by John | Filed under Uncategorized
by Rick Warren
“Some friendships do not last, but some friends are more loyal than brothers” (Proverbs 18:24 TEV).
The Bible gives us six building blocks for developing long-term relationships:1. We must be considerate. “People want others to be loyal, so it is better to be poor than to be a liar” (Proverbs 19:22 NCV).
2. We must be confidential. “No one who gossips can be trusted with a secret, but you can put confidence in someone who is trustworthy” (Proverbs 11:13 TEV).
3. We must be candid. “An honest answer is a sign of true friendship” (Proverbs 24:26 TEV).
4. We must be constructive. “People learn from one another, just as iron sharpens iron” (Proverbs 27:17 TEV).
5. We must be consistent. “Friends always show their love. What are relatives for if not to share trouble?” (Proverbs 17:17 TEV).
6. We must be committed. “Some friendships do not last, but some friends are more loyal than brothers” (Proverbs 18:24 TEV).
The point is obvious: You will attract whatever you are
