Wait on the Lord

 Tho the pathway before you uncertain maybe, trust the Lord, no good thing to withhold back from thee. He is perfect in wisdom, and faithful to bless. Trust his word; in his time he will give you his best. 

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not grow weary; they’ll walk and not faint. Wait, I say, wait on the Lord. 

Be not weary in waiting, for love suffers long. If you faint not, you’ll reap when the harvest is come. Run with patience the race as you rest on his word, for your testing will teach you to wait on the Lord. 

I was looking through my journal from past years, and I came to this song. Obviously I was in a season of waiting. Isn’t it funny how we seem to always seem to be waiting. And then finally that waiting period stops, and God sends us another waiting period. Well, use that time of waiting. Don’t waste it wishing for ‘it’ to come. Cause ‘it’ may never come. Instead, use your time of waiting to glorify and honour God. 

The person who never succeeded in life was the person who waited his whole life for the waiting season to end. 

John 15:1,2,4-7

 God is our vine dresser, and Jesus is our Vine. 

If a tree has branches that are rotten and don’t produce fruit, then that branch is cut down and completely dies. But if a branch does produce fruit, and is fruitful, then it will get pruned so that it may bring forth more fruit. That pruning period is tough for the branch, but eventually the good is revealed when it produces more fruit. 

If we do not bring forth fruit as a Christian, and we are dying, then God will cut us down, and we will wilt and completely die. But if we are fruitful, then he will prune so that we bring forth more fruit. Pruning is a painful process in our lives, but eventually we will see the good from it when we produce more fruit. 

A branch cannot do anything by itself. It must abide in the vine. 

Jesus is our vine, and we are the branches. Unless we abide in Jesus, we cannot bring forth fruit, and eventually we will be cut down and we will wither, because God is that Perfect vine dresser. 

May we abide in Jesus Christ. May we bring forth fruit for his glory. 

God’s smile

 This morning when I woke up to go to work I had this really depressed feeling in side. It was like everything in me said: not another day of this please!!!  

What horrifies me is that my attitude will stay the same throughout the whole day if something is not done about it, and it will affect the people I meet. But what can you do when so frequently you wake up and think: not another day!!! 

Well, I heard Joni Eareckson say how she asks Jesus to give her a smile for the day. So I decided If he can give Joni a smile, then he can give me one too. 

Since my work is serving customers, I have to have a smile ready and waiting. 

But sometimes it’s so very difficult to have a smile for them. Cause everything inside of me just wants to cry or be at home in bed. But instead of crying or hopping in bed, we need to cry out to God and ask him for his smile. His smile will brighten another’s day. His smile will encourage others. His smile will draw the people you meet to himself. So I encourage you, if you wake up feeling depressed and smileless, cry out to God before you leave your room and ask him for his smile

God’s grace

 When my strength is all gone

And I can't carry on

He comforts with peace from above

With the valley so deep

I trust God's word to me

My grace is sufficient for thee

My grace is sufficient for thee

For my strength is made perfect in weakness

Gladly therefore will I glory in infirmities

That the pow'r of Christ rests on me

My heart gladly will sing

Of the treasure I seek

As I seek his face day after day

Though the testing seems long

In his grace there's a song

I long to know him, never question his ways

My grace is sufficient for thee

For my strength is made perfect in weakness

Gladly therefore will I glory in infirmities

That the pow'r of Christ rests on me

Our thoughts

 For me, I find idleness a very easy trap to get caught in. What I especially struggle with is when I have nothing to do, so I think. Now this would be alright so long as it was always good thoughts. But it’s so easy to start thinking in a way that Jesus would not be glorified. 

Psalm 36:4 describes this exactly. While on our bed at night, when we can’t sleep, the wicked starts to plot trouble. It starts with the mind. 

It says in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to take every thought captive to obey Christ. Get rid of that evil or dirty thought. I heard a pastor say that if you leave it for a couple of seconds, it’ll stay. You need to get rid of it immediately. 

So something I try do every time one of those dirty or wicked thoughts come up is immediately take it to God and say: God, take this thought and replace it with something beautiful that will honour and glorify you.    It takes a conscious effort to remember to get rid of it, cause our enemy, the devil, uses subtle thoughts that are hard to see at first. 

James 4:5-8 

Contentment

 

                         Contentment!!

                            (1 Timothy 6:6)

A lot of people don't really understand the meaning of the word 'contentment.' 

Content= a state of happiness and satisfaction. 

1) Luke 3:14b (being content with the wages you're  given.) 

2) 2 Corinthians 12:10 (content with hardships and trials.) 

3) 1 Timothy 6:8 (content with what you wear.)

4) Hebrews 13:5 (being content with the things you have.)

5) Philippians 4:11 (content in everything.) 

1,2,3,& 4 seem to be easier. But 5? EASY!!  Nah uh!! More like OUCH!! No way am I content in everything!! 

So many hard things crop in our life that make it hard to be content. We cannot be content on our own.

The world is so discontent. They think that SOMETHING can fill that empty hole inside, when really only that SOMEONE can. 

How true that is also for us christians today, too. We are so discontent. We forget that Christ is the only source of our contentment. 

We think we have the secret to contentment, but unless it is related to a spotless person, then we don't. 

Sometimes as christians, we are content with the wrong things. 

We are content to: 

1)Forget the people out on the street are going to an eternity full of fire. (Its an unhappy thought anyhow!!) 

2) Sit down instead of standing up for what is right. (After all, people might mock us!!) 

3) Stay in a situation that is totally displeasing to God, instead of leaving. (How awkward it would be if they asked us why we left!!) 

God doesn't want us to be content in these areas. He wants us to be discontent in these areas. 

So many christians are content in the wrong way.

Can we rely on God for contentment? If so, why don't we? 

We as christians tell the world: God loves us, he helps us when we are struggling. 

Why then do we turn to the world for contentment? 

The world's slogan is: If you have the latest...you will be content!! 

God's slogan is: If you have me, you will be content!! 

But we don't think so. We think that 'if only I had...' I would be content! But God says NO!! HE is the only source of contentment! 

Our key verse says that "Godliness with contentment is GREAT gain." 

No one in this world can offer you contentment. Only God can. 

The world offers a lot of TEMPORARY stuff!! But what God offers is ETERNAL!! (2 Corinthians 4:17,18) 

As christians we need to take God seriously when he says: I will supply all your needs.

He doesn't say all our wants. He doesn't always give us what we want, but he does always give us what we need!!

Having the right attitude

 

Having a I-get-to-be-here instead of a I-got-

to-be-here attitude.

Having an attiude that says "I get to be here," is a whole lot different to a the attitude "I got to be here."

Wherever it is  in life, whether it is a financial problem, a health problem, or even a contentment problem, we are there for a reason. God wants us to learn something from it, too. 

You might be in a place right now where you are thinking: I GOT to be here cause God wants me here.

Oh man, you have it all wrong. In every situation you can and should have the attitude that says: I GET to be here cause God wants me here!! 

Here are some things that can help us have a I-get-to-be-here

attitude. 

1) Realise God's Providence. Isaiah 55:9,10

Remember that God has you where you are for a reason. He is your guide. He is guiding you to a place that you did not know existed. 

At this present moment, you may have a I-got-to-be-here attitude. Listen friend, if you have that attitude, you are not alone!! I have had that same attitude. But it is not the attitude to have!! 

Remeber also, friend, life is not a destination, it is a journey. 

2) Experience God's presence. Matthew 28:20.

Its not about who you are, its about who you are with.

It is not about where you go, its about who you go with. 

Remeber who you are travelling life with. He is the important one. Without him, you do not have a purpose to life. 

Spend time with God alone. Not a hi-and-bye talk. Get to know him personally, and what he wants for your life. Spend each day with Jesus. 

3) Steward God's postition and possesion. Matthew 25:23.

God has given you eveything you have. Look after it. For example: your room. If you have your own room, God has given that to you. Clean it, keep it tidy, keep it fresh,ect. Whatever you have, look after it. If you are the piano player for church, practice hard. Remeber who you are playing for. Give God the glory. Whatever God has put in your charge, whether it be school, job, church,ect, give your all to it. 

Position prepares you for the future. 

Here are also a few DON'TS that will help you change from a I-got-to to a I-get-to attitude. 

1) Don't doubt in the night what God has shown you in the light. 

God may have shown you at one  point of your life what he wanted you to do, but then when things get tough and you're having a hard time, you start to think: Is that really what I should be doing?

Don't doubt in the night what God has shown you in the light. 

2) Don't spend your life trying to be out of prisons, spend it staying in God's presence. 

We can spend a lot of our time trying to stay out of something, when God says: Hey, I want YOU!! 

Spend your time listening to what God wants you to know. You can do that by reading his Word often. Don't skim over it!! Fall into it!!! Meditate it!! 

3)Don't compare yourself to others. Be content with where you are. 

All to often I find myself looking at others seeing what their life calling is. Or I see how far ahead they are. Or how skinny they are compared to me. Then when I see how much better they are than me, I start being DISCONTENT! DON'T compare yourself to others!! God puts people in different circustances, he gives different jobs. Everyone isn't the same. Instead of comparing and then despairing, look to God and ask him what he wants you to do. 

4) Don't pick up other peoples offences.

Why someone is hurting because of another person is NOT your business!!! If someone has offened your friend, you don't need to be offended too. Picking up someone elses offences divides people. You may never of had a problem with that person until you took over your friends offence. 

Also, if you are in a church situation or job situation or whatever, and someone else is leaving, it is not your place to leave too. Just because God may have called someone away, that doesn't mean he's calling you too. WAIT for God's perfect timing!!

Lastly, Live to serve others. Not yourself. Serving others brings more JOY than serving self