Smoothing out the road

It has been a while...18 months since I last updated my Blog. I took a look and it has had a little over 13,000 views. Not too bad ...lol

I sit in my office today as the road crew replaces the street in front of the church. Normally, the birds are singing and the odd car drives by. Today, there is a constant roar of a machine eating pavement. And in a few days, that noise will be gone and the new road will be complete.

Our minds can be like that pavement machine – every now and then it gets loud, noisy, the earth shakes, things look terrible and traffic slows to a halt.

Watchman Nee said, “An unpeaceful mind cannot operate normally. Hence the Apostle teaches us to “have no anxiety [stress] about anything” (Phil. 4:6). Deliver all anxious thoughts to God as soon as they arise. Let the peace of God maintain your heart and mind (v. 7).

I would like to share some Scriptures with you – Scripture to help bring peace back to your mind:

Philippians 4:6,7 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalms 55:22 Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Proverbs 16:3 Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.
James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Dr. Henry Brandt puts it like this:

TAKE A STEP
Find a little time to evaluate your reactions to your current situations.

What is keeping you from experiencing God’s love, joy, and peace?

Are you willing to yield yourself to the Lord?

Are you willing to release the emotions to Him that are affecting your life in a negative way?

Do you truly desire His peace?

Ask God to fill you with His peace and to show you how you can change.

My final thought...The road eventually will be smooth, once the builder is finished with it :)

A little town called Peace

There once was a person who enjoyed life. Each morning as the sun arose he would look outside at the wonderful colours of the sunrise. Red, orange, yellow and purple as the suns rays reflected off of the morning clouds. It was beautiful in this place called Peace.

Then one day a terrible thing happened. A storm came from out of nowhere. The clouds darkened a blackish green colour. The wind all but ceased. Stillness was in the air as all the birds stopped their singing.

The person got scared, but instead of staying in the shelter of Peace, he ventured onto a path - just a small path - called Anger's Path. At first, the path brought some relief. His back was now to the storm. Leaving Peace behind almost felt good. The storm was getting stronger, thunder, lightening and hail - but it was behind him now.

Looking up ahead there was a clearing...then another road - a road called Bitterness. This road was wider, smoother and well traveled. It went as far as the eye could see and the great thing was that it was going away from the storm. He walked, and walked and walked some more. Great distance was traveled, but no matter how far he walked...the storm was still in the rear. 

The person grew tired. It took a lot of energy and time to run from the storm. But guess what - Soon the person noticed that there were others. People just like him - People called: Loneliness, Hunger, Thirst, Pain, Struggle, Anxiety and Fear - All running, all on a road that lead to a place called Nowhere.

The person stopped to look back from where he had come, his heart sank - the storm was still there. The clouds where black and lightening flashed - but there was something else... In front of those black as night clouds a rainbow appeared. Red, Orange, Yellow - Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet - brilliant colours. Made more brilliant by the storm behind.

Then it hit him - Running from the storm of life was just that - running. If he had just rested in the shelter of Peace while the storm raged - eventually the storm would pass. The sun would shine and the birds would sing again. The air would be fresh and the flowers would bloom. Peace - the place that gives you shelter in the storm.

John 14:27 - Jesus said "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

Sleepless nights, humid days - and it is still officially Spring!

Well friends, if you are living within 150kms where I am living, you know that weather we've been having the last few nights. Severe thunderstorms, high winds, lightning, hail, tornado warnings, thunder, torrential rains, humidex values in the low 40's and loss of power. 3 nights running, this is what we've been living through.

Am I complaining - no. I am sharing what I have been living - that is life.

One thing I would like to share though is this - But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do. Psalm 73:28 

You see, even through these uncertain times, I know that the LORD is looking after me and my family. I have the security that He is looking out for us and protecting us. And that is what keeps me going. I know that the external events that are happening around me are just that - external. All these weather factors happen to everyone - friend/enemy, family/stranger, religious/non-religious....everyone is effected. Jesus even said in His teaching of loving you enemies - “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. ⁴⁴ But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! ⁴⁵ In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. ⁴⁶ If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. ⁴⁷ If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. (Matthew 5:43-47) 

Today, if you are a Christian - Show Christ's love. If you are not a Christian and you are reading this - please know this - He loves you dearly. 

Not all storms are like the external events that I talked about in the first paragraph - the worse storms, the most hurtful, occur deep in your mind. They make you feel lost, tired, and hopeless. You wonder when they are going to end. Unfortunately, you can't look on the radar and see how long it is going to last. You can ask Jesus to be in the boat with you, as you weather the storm. His peace can calm the internal storms of your life.

Blessings friends !

Facing the Storms of Life

Storm rolling in !

I think that the snow is done...maybe a flake or two will be around, but the big snow is over. The flowers are starting to come up. The birds are singing loudly in the morning. The buds are on a lot of the trees and the grass is starting to green up a little. Spring is here. 

One interesting thing about spring is that it is a very stormy season. Warm air hitting cold air, rain, wind and even a little bit of sunshine. 

Life is a lot like that. Sometimes as we go through seasons, we face storms. They may be light, they may be quick and sometime they are severe. The important thing to remember is that storms will pass. And often, after a storm there is a great benefit to the storm.

 Zechariah 10:1 says - "Ask the Lord for rain in the spring, for he makes the storm clouds. And he will send showers of rain so every field becomes a lush pasture."

The storms of life may be scary, but it's after the storm when the birds sing, the grass grows and the air is fresh. Remember - The Lord will be with you during the storm. He will be with you after the storm as well - but you need to rely and trust in Him. The rewards are three fold - peace, comfort and love. 
Have a great day friends :)

The calm after the storm or just the eye of the storm?

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 :)