Tag Archive | guidance

Good Deeds or Distractions?

Sep27

pie-in-the-skyThere’s so much to be said about “destiny”. So many people think it’s “pie in the sky” or just “hopeful thinking”. But in truth…it’s so much more.

God doesn’t call everyone to be a preacher or have a huge congregation. No, God calls some to be a plumber, an electrician, a writer, a singer, a songwriter, a classroom teacher, an accountant, a construction worker and on, and on, and on.

When you truly know what God calls you to do, you quickly realize that even if it’s a small part in the big scheme of things, it brings you so much joy that it’s undeniable that you are where you are meant to be. Now at the time, you might not realize how many people you have impacted by your daily work. However, your love, smiles and joy could be the very thing that impacted them the most. You might not have ever spoken a single “Biblical” word but your impact was far greater than if you did.

I see so many Christians these days running every which direction, being so stressed out, thinking that they are doing good by participating in everything. But in all reality, they are missing their true calling. Now don’t get me wrong, we are all supposed to be loving, helpful and making a difference. But if you have over committed in too many places or in too many activities than your joy will be diminished and not as effective.

What’s worse is seeing Christians compare themselves to others. I’ve seen pastors wonder what in the world is wrong with them when their congregation only has 100 people while someone else has 5,000 each Sunday. First and foremost, never compare. God works in all of us differently and it doesn’t matter if you have one person or 10,000…it’s God who makes the difference and you might have impacted that one person far greater than the other pastor did with the 10,000.

See, when you become stressed because you’re doing “good deeds” every night of the week, how can you possibly be taking time for a deep-committed relationship with Jesus? The answer is…you can’t. You’ll be too busy thinking about all the things that need to be done in order to be here or there. You’ll be wondering how in the world you’ll get it all accomplished. You’ll wonder how you’re going to get your own laundry done or go to the grocery store. At this point, these are no longer “good deeds” but have become “distractions”.

Being overly committed is not God’s design. He wants us living balanced lives, not chaotic ones. When you are so committed to all the external works, you will not have time to work on your own “true destiny”. Your true destiny comes in many forms as outlined before. God may ask you to help out in a specific church function or become a choir singer or participate in a charity event. And that’s okay. If God leads you to participate then by all means, walk out in faith and follow God’s guidance. However, the sole purpose of this writing is to say…walk in your destiny not in “good deeds”. There is a huge difference.

If you are overly committed, the real question is why? Are you truly walking out your calling or are you trying to fill a void that only God can fill?

Christian illustrations for the whole family“The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever”

(Isaiah 32:17)

Your destiny has a real sense purpose. It’s not just to be busy or being a good person or doing good things. Start questioning the true motives of all your “good deeds”. Take a real hard look at why you are filling your day with so many activities. Begin to listen to your still small voice and then make your decisions. As you start listening to the deep peace within, you’ll begin to declutter your life and things will become more balanced.

God wants you to be successful and walking into your destiny. Let God guide you every step of the way. Learn to say “No” to the distractions and say “YES” to God! For when you do, you will know you’re on His right path and you’ll accomplish much more than you ever dreamed possible.

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Are You Being Pruned?

Sep6

pruning1Have you ever wondered why people, jobs, homes or other things come and go in your life? Maybe at one point you thought you had it all…great life, fantastic friends, wonderful family, more than enough to spare and share only to see it all disintegrate in front of your eyes? Have you ever thought that it might not have been meant to hurt you but to promote you?

God’s wisdom is much higher than ours. He can use our most painful situations as a pruning process. But why?

Well basically, God uses the painful process of difficult situations to prune things from our lives that are no longer useful or to promote us higher than we see ourselves. It’s not because He wants to harm us or have us go through pain, it’s simply because he wants to strengthen us to fulfill the richest, fullest and most fruitful life He has in store for us. See, sometimes we simply hold onto “things or people” too tightly. Maybe because of the “fear of the unknown” or the memories attached; but whatever the reason, we simply won’t let go even when we know we should or even when God is prompting us to let go.

God always has a bigger purpose in mind and the only way we can see our destinies come to fruition is to let go of things or people God wants us to let go of.  It’s like a parent teaching a child to ride a bicycle. As a parent, you know that when you let go of the bike there’s a very good chance that your child is going to fall. You also know that it is a vital part of the learning process and you’ll be there when they do. God is our ultimate parent. He sees things in a much different light than we do and He also knows what’s best for His children. Let’s look at a few reasons why God may start the pruning process in our lives:

  • Sometimes things are hindering our growth. Maybe the very thing we insist holding onto is keeping us from growing further. Have you ever thought that maybe just maybe if you let go, God’s love and grace would fill the void? Is it possible that something you see as a tragedy is actually a blessing in disguise filled with the very opportunities God wishes to shower you with His goodness? If we could see things from God’s wisdom and of eternity, we might interpret these difficulties as a catapult to a higher level since God promises not to withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11)
  • Sometimes God can use a difficulty to prune you from a habit, dependency or a thought that is no longer useful. Just as parents allow a child to make their own mistakes while vowing to be there when they fall…Is it possible that God allowed the difficulty to cause you to look upward towards heaven for solutions to your problems?
  • God knows we need to “die to ourselves and desires” in order for Him to use us for His purposes. We need to let go of egos, greed, selfishness, pride and many other issues before He can trust us with His great works. Sometimes difficulties can come into our lives in order for us purge ourselves and to see what we truly need…God and God alone.
  • Jesus knew that persecution and adversity would come against all believers. When you are faced with undeniable difficulties with no solutions, where do you turn? Do you seek the one who knows all? Do you ask Him for endurance to withstand the tests and hardship? Do you seek His answers above all else? Adversity comes and we need to be able to withstand them and that only comes from above. God has to be everything and in first place in your life if you truly want to be used for His purposes.
  • Sometimes hardships happen to see how the Lord will turn our grief into joy…The great Shepherd said, “I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” (John 16:20) God hears your cries and feels your sorrows, however He also promises to turn your tears into joy if you will let Him.
  • Sometimes things will get worse before they get better. It’s not because God doesn’t love you. Actually, it’s just the opposite. He loves you so much that He wants you to learn how to assume greater responsibilities. If He can trust you with little then He can trust you with much more. (Luke 16:10)
  • Sometimes difficulties or tragedies might happen in order to accomplish the greater purposes of God. Maybe God wants to “show off” in your life to have others see your situation and wonder how in the world are they making it through all this; and they end up being drawn into God’s presence from your difficult situation. “Neither this blind man sinned nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” (John 9:4)
  • Misunderstandings, betrayals or difficulties can be used to prune people out of your life. Sometimes God will allow a difficulty to happen so you can determine who your real friends are. People that stick by you through the hardest of times are people you wish to surround yourself with. However on the flip side…individuals who say they would be there but aren’t are certainly people who you need to be grateful for your time together but let go so God can multiply you with better, caring friends.

It’s never easy going through a pruning phase in life. It is downright painful, filled with tears and just zaps the joy from you. But does it have to be? If you can allow yourself to see the greater purpose of the pruning process, you just might allow God to “prune away” and praise Him in the process. I know it’s difficult but if you will allow it to happen to the fullest degree, you will walk away with something more amazing and more precious than you could ever have imagined. God has good things in store for you. Embrace the pruning process to see God’s possibilities come to life!

 

pruning3

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Enemies Don’t Stand A Chance

Aug9

abuse-clipart-verbalabuseLast week, we discussed what to do when you’re facing insurmountable odds and tipping the scale into your favor. Well, I would like to expand on it a bit this week as this topic isn’t discussed enough in my opinion yet it affects us all!

When people mistreat you, what’s the first thing you do? If we’re honest with ourselves, most of us immediately get angry and want revenge. Anger tends to linger until you are so full of rage that the situation is the only thing you can think about. If festering is allowed, it will affect your mind, thoughts, and temperament. This in turn, could easily lead to depression and sickness.

If we allow anger to fester, it is giving the person total control over your life. They don’t deserve that control and you don’t deserve the pain and suffering they’ve caused. So, how do we turn these situations around?

I know most people are going to cringe when I say this…but…PRAY FOR YOUR ENEMY! I know, I know, I know…how dare I say that, right?!?!?

We all have things happen that we don’t understand or things that make us so angry where you just want to punch them out. And yes, that’s not very Christian to think but hey, we are human and there are many times in our lives that we either think or feel un-Christianly. Let’s get real, we are human and those are human traits. Even Jesus got angry in the temple and against heresy. Having those feelings are normal. However, how we react to the feelings determines your future path. Do you give into those feelings or do you follow God’s way of doing things? Now that is the real question, isn’t it?

As we discussed last week, we will encounter trials in this world. We will come up against evil in the craziest of times. That is a part of life. But God gives us such a profound outlook as to how we are to deal with the pain and anger. Let’s see…

Matthew 5:43-45: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.…”

Romans 12:19-21: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

From these passages, you get a real feel for what God says. He tells us to love and pray for our enemies. He knows that isn’t the typical humanly response. So why does He tell us to do it? Because He wants to take care of it for you. He wants us to focus on Him and not the unfair situation. PERIOD!!!!

See, our true battle isn’t the situation or the person. Our true battle lies in how we react to the unfair situation and what we will focus upon. We must strive to keep our eyes on the Lord at all times. If we can do that, then it gives God free reign to help us in all situations. So today, I ask that you begin praying and doing good towards your enemies and watch God resolve the issues into your favor!

HAMG-IN-THERE

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Tip The Scale

Aug3

dont-quitHave you found yourself up against insurmountable odds? Do you look back and find yourself wondering if the good fight of faith is really worth it? Have you found yourself wondering if things will ever get better?

Well friends, I think we could all answer with a resounding “YES”! We all have had times in our lives that make us wonder what the heck is going on. We have all faced difficulties that seemed so overwhelming that the stress of it all weighs so heavily that we really think about quitting. Today, there are so many believers facing their toughest challenges. However, the biggest challenge of it all is how will you respond to it?

When we face trials, it is so easy for us to throw up our hands and say “I quit”. It’s those times where you don’t feel like praying, don’t feel like getting out of bed, don’t feel like dealing with anything and just allow yourself to fall into a pity party. But the problem with quitting is that it allows depression to set in. It gives your enemies and situations total control over you.  You ultimately give them the power to determine your outcome. If they are doing terrible things or saying hurtful things about you, why would you want to allow them to control your path and outcome?

There are numerous instances in the Bible about opposition, impossible situations and feelings of hopelessness. Just read about Jonah, Job and David to name a few. They all found themselves in impossible situations where it didn’t look like things were ever going to change. You read about them going through stress, worry, hopelessness, sadness, anger and grief. Jonah even ran away from God completely. Atleast he tried to. How many of us are in these type of situations right now?

In times like these, you really need to dig in and “Tip The Scale”.

See, God works in steps. Most of us have no clue what God’s ultimate plan is for our lives. God usually gives us one step at a time and at each step, we find ourselves in some sort of a battle. But what God really wants to see is if we will continue through the trial and trust Him to work it out for our good. God told us that we would face many trials in this world but He also promises to restore and establish us through His grace.

1 Peter 5:10 ESV “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

So what do we need to do in order to “Tip The Scale”?

James 1:12 ESV “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

God promises to work it all out for our good. You don’t have to understand the circumstances. You don’t have to ask the “why me” questions. You don’t have to wonder how in the world you are going to get out of your situation. God will make a way when there aren’t any. God will turn things around and restore your life far greater than you could ever imagine. So be of good cheer when you are facing a trial because God must be closer than you think to “Tipping the Scales” in your favor. Pray, rejoice and sing to the Lord for impossible odds set the stage for God’s amazing miracles to happen!

Blessing

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