Well today we did something as a family. We cleaned the house. And I don't just mean vacuuming. We knelt down and prayed as a family. We asked the Lord to show each of us anything in our house that is offensive to the Lord. Then we took a couple garbage bags and cleaned the house, as a family. 2 garbage bags later it was done. No one fought, no one was upset. Everyone agreed. Sure, someone else may find nothing wrong with the stuff we threw away - that's ok. But this was something that we needed to do. And we could have made quite a bit of money selling the movies that we tossed. - but I can't rationalize that. I couldn't in good conscience sell what we were convicted of.
You may be thinking..."Tim, you've gone over the deep end" Go ahead, think that way :) It really doesn't bother me. I'm responsible for my family.
When all is said and done, and I stand before the Lord - I want nothing more than to be able to say with a clear conscience - "As for me and my house, we served the Lord."
It's a journey, and we stumble sometimes. But the Lord is faithful, kind and compassionate. He's a good God. :)
I do not think that it is coincidence that yesterday I wrote about the application of "Love" and today I open BibleGateway and this is the passage of the day... Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lordyour God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment.A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’" Matthew 22:37-39 Ok Lord...you have my attention.
Have you ever listened to someone who talked just to make you feel small? They used confusing words, and they let you know that they were educated, very educated. Don't get me wrong, I believe education is important. But I also believe that people often misuse the education that they have in order to make themselves feel superior to others. The Bible is very clear - watch how you treat other people. Are you using your gifting for others instead of for yourself? I want you to think - Why did God gift you with the gifts that you have? John MacArthur said many years ago "Knowledge is essential, but it's not sufficient."In other words - it is good to understand and learn, but that in itself is not enough.
Look at it this way, I'm Canadian so I'll use hockey as an example, but it will work with any sport...What if you were a hockey player and every shift you scored a goal....but on your own net. Yes you scored, but you are hurting your team! The same way it is with your walk with Christ. You can know the Bible, have scripture memorized, know what is acceptable and what isn't acceptable...but if you don't show love to your fellow human beings....you have missed it.
The Apostal Paul wrote it like this: 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2 NLT
I heard Francis Chan speak on this today and it hit me hard. I am beginning to realize in my own life that for too long, I've had the head knowledge but I am failing in the love application. The Lord is working on me in this area. It's a journey. And I'm learning :)
I woke up this morning and this was the verse that came up when I opened BibleGateway (electronic Bible Web page) What encouraging words!
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13
One thing that I have learned in life is that when a blessing is close, a lot of bad things happen. I usually feel grumpy, negative and am not a very positive person. It is a struggle that I must bear. And yes, I know that it is part of my personality, but that is not an excuse.
I hate being this way. Yes, hate. That is a very strong word, but appropriate. So I pray, I read my Bible and I look for better days ahead. My encouragement for the day is below. I`m holding onto this promise :)
1 Peter 1:6-7 So be truly glad.There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
You'll notice my latest "Tweet" talks about blessing. This is something that the Lord has been speaking to me about. Sunday morning we had a wonderful time at church. There was singing, teaching, and a lot of prayer. God is working, and moving on the hearts of people. There is a new vitality that is emerging. Good things are in store as people are pressing into God's presence. When I was praying Sunday morning, this was impressed upon me - "What ever blessing you keep - that becomes your harvest. But if you use your blessing to bless, those are seeds for a greater harvest!"
That spoke very loudly to me. Blessing...all too often we hear of how blessing is poured out and people are so happy and joyous. I challenge you to think about this next question - What would happen if those blessings you receive were then turned around to help others?
I like this verse : "Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop." 2 Corinthians 9:6 NLT
The Message translation says it like this : "Remember: A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop. I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving."
I can remember one of my friends who use to quote this verse - Revelation 12:11a 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony - If you are reading this, thanks for making and continuing to make an impact John.
The word OVERCOME has two different applications. You can be overcome with fear, circumstances, & life. If this application is you, you will be feeling down, defeated, and hopeless. Then there is the other application. If you are the one who Overcomes, you are rejoicing, victorious, and visionary. You see, I choose to be the second. Not because of what I can do. Not because of my talents. Not because of my life circumstances. It is because of Who I believe in. There is a bigger picture friends. A bigger goal.
A lot of times I believe that we are overcome (in the negative) because we are striving for worldly goals. More money, bigger houses, nicer cars. To what end? Anxiety, stress, depression.
Instead I should be choose to focus on what the Lord has done for me. That is why I posted this song earlier to my Facebook profile. It makes me think. Really think. Here's the thing - you listen to the song, and it is beautiful. But do you know that they are singing scripture? Yes that's right, scripture. It's a song of triumph, a song of victory. I have used "The Message" translation to describe the background of this song. Please read then listen to the song. Enjoy :)
7-12War broke out in Heaven. Michael and his Angels fought the Dragon. The Dragon and his Angels fought back, but were no match for Michael. They were cleared out of Heaven, not a sign of them left. The great Dragon—ancient Serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, the one who led the whole earth astray—thrown out, and all his Angels thrown out with him, thrown down to earth. Then I heard a strong voice out of Heaven saying,
Salvation and power are established!
Kingdom of our God, authority of his Messiah!
The Accuser of our brothers and sisters thrown out,
Sometimes the storm of life rages. It rages hard, it rages violently, it rages and it looks like it'll never end, then there is calm. Now when the calm comes, it is one of two types of calm. A calm of the storm being over, or a temporary calm - the eye of the storm.
Either way, there is peace - even if it just for a moment. The calm after the a storm is the type of calm that is restful. You know that the storm is over. You know that it is time to rebuild, time to clean-up.
Then you have the calm of an eye of the storm. This type of calm is often short lived. It is a temporary reprieve. You can take a breath. But the storm is still there - it is half over, but for sure there is more to come. It does however give hope. You made it through the first half.
Today, I feel like I'm in the eye of the hurricane. The first half of the storm has been rough. My entire family is sick. Call it stomach flu, call it GI infection - it's been a rough 36 hours. My wife and daughter are on the mend. My 2 sons are just starting to get sick, I have been sick off and on for a week, but I feel pretty good today.
Today my prayer is this - It is found in 1 Samuel 25:6 “Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own!"
What ever peace you are experiencing, or even if you are going through a storm right now - hang in there :) Peace is on the horizon :)
