Tag: faith

We Can Only Imagine

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We Can Only Imagine

We can only imagine how life will be tomorrow. We can never fully prepare for the war that awaits us, or the absolute joy around the corner. We can never imagine how our lives will change day to day, but what we find is ourselves loving Jesus for the promise at the end of the race. We have been promised the best gift of all and during the path to get there we will cry, we will laugh, but when we finally get home we will be in the aww of God, we will fall to our knees and sing praises to the one true King. We can only imagine what the greatness will be like, we can only imagine how eternity will be. We can only guess what tomorrow will bring, we can only imagine those who will hurt us. We can only imagine those who will fall before us, those will rise to the call and we only have our eternal hope in the Lord. What will you do with the one life we have? Will you use it to lift up those around you, or will you use it for your own personal selfish gains? Some people live only for themselves, they don’t care who they hurt. Some people live to hurt others, while some live to praise the Lord, give him all the Glory. Be one of those, be a lion amongst the lambs. Be a soldier by living in the light. Show others the grace and love. Don’t hurt others in the pursuits of your own happiness. Be that someone that God uses to bring joy and light to the world. Be that warrior be that example. Be the reflection to the best of your ability of Christ. Love like we were taught, forgive as we were commanded.

Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s broke

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Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s broke

Isaiah 54:17 “17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord.”

The arrow is one of the oldest ways to hunt yet we still use it today. A projectile (bullet) has hardly changed at all in nearly 200 years. The guns themselves, though they look different, the ergonomics have made things more comfortable, haven’t changed in functionality. The Brownings .50 cal machine gun, didn’t go through any changes till just recently. For so long the gun didn’t have any alterations despite being as old as it was.

Luke 5:36-39 “36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.” Jesus isn’t saying that new things aren’t good, what he’s saying is just because it’s old doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value.

Where do we find our valued items? Do we discard the things we have that we stop using; do we discard things even if they can be fixed? Do we place value in things of old?

Many in our society today feel that Christianity, or religion in general is an antiquated idea, that has survived far longer then it should have or needed to. Many feel that religion though once held a valid purpose no longer holds the same function of the days when forward thinking was considered witchcraft.

It’s amazing; recently Nintendo released the NES classic. This is a system that’s based on 25-year-old tech, but we still love it today. No matter how old our faith goes, it has survived the passage of time. Faith springs eternal. Faith James 1:5-8 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man [is] unstable in all his ways.”

 In Star Trek TNG ‘Relics’ Scotty is found alive and well by the crew of the Enterprise 1701 D. As he struggles to find his place on a ship nearly 75 years into the future he and La Forge quickly realize that just because something’s old, doesn’t mean it can’t be useful.

Scotty: Maybe so. But when they can build ships like your Enterprise, who’d want to pilot an old bucket like this?

Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: I don’t know. If this ship were operational, I bet she’d run circles around the Enterprise at impulse speeds. Just because something’s old doesn’t mean you throw it away.

 Before you pass judgment on something old, remember, look beneath the surface, dig round a little, you never know what kind of treasures might still exist. As for Christianity, well the biggest treasure of all, eternal salvation.

The Battle Rages On

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The Battle Rages On

When you feel all alone and then when you feel you can’t breath at all, how do we learn to survive? We survive because we must. The alternative isn’t very flattering. When we try to find others around us to depend on, sometimes we look in all the wrong places, and sometimes we just don’t have what we need, or at least that’s what we think sometimes. Often we wish we had more but really, is it the best thing for us, is it what God has in store?

The thing about surprises is, they are meant to shock us. When Christmas comes around we love to open our gifts and be surprised at what we get. When our surprises in life are good we couldn’t be happier. So why do we compete? When we join a sports team of some kind, what’s the fun in winning without challenge? How do we ever know our true potential unless we are tested.

As Captain Pike said to Kirk, “Do you like being the only genius-level re-offender in the mid-west? So your Dad dies, you can settle for a less than ordinary life. But you feel like you were born for something better. Something special.” What will force you to face your true potential? The only way it seems is to challenge our selves and push us beyond our comfort zones and rise to the occasion. When God gives us our challenges, it’s so we can rise above. When the Devil gives us our knocks, we can kick the Devil’s proverbial rear end, and please God as we overcome the Devils temptations. Our hardships are nothing more but training for the mission, temptations away from God, or mankind’s’ free will. James 1:13-18 “13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”

Living is not for the weak, and to live is to truly show strength. We cannot live our lives down and depressed. We cannot continue just floating in the water waiting for the sharks to devour us. If we want to live we can’t just flounder around, we must actually work for it. Life is nothing without joy, life is nothing without having fun. So why don’t we work on that more?

 

The battles we face can break us, or make us thrive. “Sooner or later, we all go through a crucible” Sabastian Blood He goes on to say “Most believe there are two types of people who go into a crucible. The ones who become stronger from the experience and survive it, and the ones who die. But there’s a third type. The ones who learn to love the fire and choose to stay in their crucible because it’s easier to embrace the pain when it’s all you know anymore.” How will you survive yours? How will your crucibles shape who you are?

When it Rains it Pours (Finding Gods Grace)

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When it Rains it Pours (Findings Gods Grace)

So let me tell you about my month. It started off much like every other month, same old routine, going to work, coming home, taking care of the fur creatures I call my kids, cleaning, and trying to relax when possible. Without going to into detail as the why, the how, the when, all those other W’s, safe to say I felt a little like Job and Paul combined. In a month I was put in a place that was pretty horrible, lost my position, gave up a great deal, was put through an awful lot of mental and emotional stress. My car was damaged, and then had a major issue with mice, yes I said mice, (I live in the country) Then once I finally thought I was going to get my car back, another problem popped up, thankfully of the very few things left under warranty the thermostat was.

Every step of the way God has not let me sink under the weight of the world. With insurmountable odds financially, emotionally, and even at times physically, I have had so much negativity in my life over the last several weeks, it was hard to see any kind of light at the end of the tunnel. As it seemed that my situation would go from bad, to really bad, to holy crap bad, to My God My God why have you forsaken me. But as I kept praying, kept the faith, I never asked God why these things were happening to me? The important thing in our walk with faith is the understand that not only will we have storms from time to time, but the occasional hurricane as well. As some areas of the world are constantly hit with monsoons they know and expect the rains to come and not let up for months. Is our walk with Christ any different?

No matter how bad things got, today of all days I would see the light at the end of the tunnel. With a settlement of $365 to move forward freely in life that would be a small price to pay to have things finally go my way. But the challenge would remain, where would I get that? A guardian angel would have it in my account within 10 minutes. Then my car, with everything that went wrong the tires (being slashed) the fuel coil being damaged, then the thermostat going out, all at the same time, it seems that a lot of Jesus came my way because it looks like at most, if anything at all, I’ll have to pay $200. Not too bad considering everything that was wrong, and that’s not a sure bet right now. The important thing is the bills will miraculously get paid, the car is now fixed and ready for the long trip to Texas, it seems that many of the other obstacles I had are now behind me.

I’m not saying it’s time for open calm seas, but I’m saying God is Great. Just when it seems that the problems I would face would be more then I could manage, God as always arrives precisely when He means to and takes away the burdens quicker then they arrived.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” In this we do not know or understand that God will be watching over us always. It’s a difficult concept for our puny little human brains to wrap our heads around. No matter the folly in our hearts, our spirit should always be lifted by the Lord on high.

Lamentations 3:25-26 “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” It may not happen when we want or when we think it should, but the good of Gods graces come when the time is right. We must learn to quiet ourselves and understand it’s beyond us. We always want to be in control, but we aren’t in control of much. If we think about it, we aren’t much different then Bane and John Daggett from Dark Knight Rises. Daggett is upset that things haven’t gone according to the plan. Or, was it the plan? It was his plan and he didn’t like it when it didn’t go his way.

“Bane: Our plan is proceeding as expected.

John Daggett: Oh really? Do *I* look like I’m running Wayne Enterprises right now? Your hit, on the stock exchange, it didn’t work, my friend! And now you have my construction crews going around the city at 24 hours a day! How exactly is that supposed to help my company absorb Wayne’s?

Bane: [to Stryver] Leave us!

John Daggett: No! You stay here, I’m in charge!

Bane: [puts his hand on Daggett’s shoulder] Do you *feel* in charge?”

Don’t we all feel that way? Isn’t it funny when God more or less asks us the same thing? Do we really feel in charge of our lives? Of course not, and when we really feel the world spinning out of control, that’s because we feel we’ve lost that edge, that purpose or place, our power. Just remember who has all the power. It’s certainly not me. If you think you have legitimate power, you might want to rethink things.

Sometimes we just need to let it go and give up our worries and concerns to God. Do our best to take it one day at a time, handle what we can, but believe that God’s in control.

The Passage of Time

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The Passage of Time

It’s amazing isn’t it how some days seem to fly by, but some days drag on? When you’re alone in isolation the clicking of that clock can seem slow, barely moving at all it seems. The perception concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” It’s hard for us puny humans to except that time is both linear and perceptive.

When time is so finite how do we manage it? When life is going great and wonderful what are we doing with the time we are given? When life is terrible and full of sorrow, how are we managing it? I myself sit at home and often feel low and down about my situation. Spending much of my time in non-voluntary solitude, I find that as long as I am using my time wisely, as long as I’m still doing God’s work, I can emotionally manage the struggle. Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” We are always so worried about getting stuff done, so worried about not having enough time to do everything in a day.

Have you ever thought about what happens when time runs out? Have you ever thought about when our time is up on this Earth, have we completed everything we wanted, have we live like we wanted too, have we seen the world, or did we squander the most precious gift we have, life/time. There have been many times in my life when I saw time slip by me, as the day should have turned into a forever sleep, but by the grace of God, time didn’t catch up to me on those days.

Some people are afraid of time. Some people are afraid to get older, but it’s been my experience that most of the time people who age also grow in wisdom. In many cultures to live to old age is to become a village elder. We should understand that time can be a friend. We often want time to go by more slowly, or more quickly, but what if we actually got to the point in our lives that we embraced exactly what time was for us because it’s God’s plan. James 4:14 “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” We cannot worry about tomorrow for time is fleeting. Time is not always a friend to us when we are alone, and scared. Rejoice in the great times we have. Proverbs 27:1 “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”

 When we have companionship it seems time goes by so quick. The joy we have not being alone, being with someone we love, being loved in return. When that time has passed however, the time alone seems so long indeed. Being with someone for 10 years, then that time is gone, 7 months feels and seems like an eternity. The Lord teaches us patience, but it’s difficult. The nights feel like ages, reaching for someone that doesn’t exist anymore. The time it takes to recover from heartbreak is different for everyone, but how that time is spent is distinctive to each person. As for me in the past I’ve had friends to get me out of the house, take me out, introduce me to new people. This time however has not gone smoothly. 7 months I’m told is not a long time. How do they come up with that? How does someone assume to know what is or is not a long time for you? The perception of the passage of time largely depends on how we feel about the moment. There’s a difference between being okay alone, and wanting to be. There’s also a big difference in being single, and being alone. Most people have a vast number of friends there for them to get them out of the house, to help them heal. What if you don’t have that? What is 48 hours in isolation verses 48 hours of parties? When someone tells you their weekends went by too fast, do you judge them on their passage of time? When someone spends 48 hours in a cell for 48 hours do you tell him or her it’s not that long? Who are we to judge how someone should feel? Who are we to tell someone how much time should pass for them to be okay? Before you judge someone, before you pass advice, perhaps you should take the time and ask how they feel, get to know their perception, and try to walk a mile in their shoes. Maybe that mile might seem longer when you try to understand. It’s best to have compassion. Have a little companion for the suffering of others. Understand that sometimes the hurt goes deeper then you may know. Pain is a tricky thing, and the amount of time it takes for that pain to go away even the shortest of times to ‘you’ could be an eternity for someone else. Don’t judge what you don’t fully understand.

We may sit in isolation, or sit in a group of friends. No matter the situation and how uncomfortable or enjoyable it may be, know that God is in control and we are precisely where we need to be. Have faith always.

Emergency Preparedness Kit

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Emergency Preparedness Kit

 I enjoy hiking and camping. I love going out into the woods and seeing what nature has to offer. To be surrounded by all of Gods glory what does it mean to you? Some people hate the idea of being in the woods. The bugs, the heat, the humidity, some people just hate it. Me, I thrive on walking in the woods, going on hikes, long and short. It’s not the hike itself we’re going to talk about today; it’s being prepared for it.

When I was in Iraq I was known for one thing and that was being prepared for as many contingencies as possible. I would consider as many outcomes of a mission as possible and I would pack my bag with as many things I could carry that I thought would be needed. When I go hiking I do the same. My boots, my belt, my emergency kit in my bag, my hand held GPS, my binoculars, fire starters, mirrors, even as much as my Phoenix strobes (night vision strobes). I try to plan for as much as possible. What happens if I fall and break or sprain something? What happens if I get turned around and lost in the woods? What happens if something bites me? What do I do if the worst-case scenario happens? Will I be prepared for it? How do you go about preparing yourself for the worst-case scenario?

When I am getting ready for my hike I think about where I’m going. I think about the weather for the next 24 hours. I think about the amount of water I would need, how long could I go without food? I consider what kind of terrain I’m walking and what I can do for shelter or long term water. I have everything in a pack I can carry. I always have a little extra water, I always have a few extra protein bars, and I always tell someone where I’m going. Not everyone plans ahead as I do.

It’s always a good idea to plan ahead because Private Murphy is always lurking around the corner. What can go wrong, will go wrong. And sadly it usually does. As many times as I’ve gone hiking, or out playing around in the wilderness so far I’ve never needed the emergency kit, but for the same reason I take it day in and day out on my travels, why do we keep insurance on homes or cars? It’s not a matter of if it’ll happen, but what if it does and you aren’t prepared for it. I would rather have it and never use it, then need it and not have it. I have insurance on my home, but pray to God I never have to use it.

What does all this have to do with God? Matthew 24:44 “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Will you be ready when the wolf growls at your door? Will you be ready when Satin decides it’s your time? The Devil will find you when you least expect it, and that’s when the enemy will attack you. 1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” The day may come when the fight comes to you, are you faithful in the Lord to withstand the attacks? The power of the Word Of God, is how we prepare. God is my Emergency preparedness Kit. Through God I can withstand the attacks by the wicked one. It’s not about wishing the fight will never come it’s about being able to fireproof, to guard and withstand the flaming arrows. The fight will come one day, the battles will happen whether you like it or not. Matthew 25:13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Police officers wear body armor knowing that have it but pray they never need it. As such we have the tools to do so also. Ephesians 6:11 “11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

When the day comes I hope your emergency kit is solid and ready to go. As for mine, I have my kit for hiking, and for life, I have my God. God is my emergency preparedness kit.

22 Veterans a Day

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22 Veterans a Day

 On a daily basis there are 22 veterans on average in this country that commit suicide. The number of veterans who try per day is a number that’s not even known. Sadly the amount of people who die is vastly too many. Why is this an epidemic in our country? The life a veteran lives after the military is never an easy one. It’s full of pain, and loss, and a lack of self worth like few will ever know or understand. What kind of pain can someone feel that would be enough to override the simplest of functions, self-preservation? When the world beats us to the ground, when our value seems to go away the notion of self-preservation is the farthest thing on our minds.

Sometimes it’s a single trauma that can cause enough pain to force our hand. I’m not saying it’s ever right, but I do understand. When you feel you’ve lost everything you once held dear to your heart, everything in your life you rated as being who you were, that loss can be strong enough to wish it all away. As a soldier we are trained to do. We are trained to react and do so without feeling, without questioning the decision, so why not when it comes to our personal lives. The training isn’t like a switch you can turn on and off anytime you wish. What happens is sad, but true. When threatened the brain automatically kicks into fight or flight response. As a soldier our flight response doesn’t usually kick in it’s always fight and never stop fighting. When we feel as if the mission is done, and or lost, that flight kicks in. We are trained to avoid emotional attachments, so when something happens that’s extremely emotionally charged, we don’t know how to handle.

2 Timothy 2:4 “4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.” This of course defines a big problem with today. Soldiers of today’s wars will go from war to home in a matter of a week. This is never enough time to decompress, to deal with the horrible things we face in war. When we get home and the real battle begins so few understand. We struggle to open up and let others know how we feel and what we think, sadly we often fail.

The true nature of the struggles is we just don’t know where to look. There are plenty of people who may not know exactly what we feel, but have struggles of their own. It’s not for us to push people aside. The mission isn’t over it’s just different. When we return, the mission is no longer to seek and destroy the enemy it’s to be there for our fellow brother and sister veterans. We must have faith that whatever battle we face, the battle will not be waged alone.

Psalms 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Help is all around us. There are people there who are willing to and want to help. If you’re a veteran and having financial troubles there are organizations to help. Facing PTSD there are places that help. It’s just a matter of using the resources that are there for you. Do not place your self worth on a temporary pain. When the mission doesn’t seem so simple anymore, when life seems bigger then we can take, we feel alone, realize we aren’t. What’s one soldier to do when life is so big? When the pain we face every day is a solitary one it’s more likely that we will loose the battle and sadly we can loose ourselves. The only truth that matters is we aren’t alone. The pain we face in basic training is only temporary. Sadly when one war is over and the next begins something about civilian life is harder to face. We feel as if the world no longer cares about us. We feel as if the problems will never go away, but the fact is they will and they do.

Joshua 1:9 “9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” God is always with us. As we may feel alone, we must not loose our faith. If we look hard enough God will always send someone to be there for us when we need it. God expects us to be proactive. God is not Santa Claus, things won’t be gift wrapped and left on the door for us. He will however give us exactly what we need, when we need it. Romans 8:38-39 “38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” No matter the fight ahead, no matter the fight behind we have hope. There will always be hope as long as we remember where to look.

As for me, I know who my friends are. I know where my support is. In the last 8 months my close friends have come out of the woodwork to help me. My close friends have lifted me up, supported me, helped me, talked to me, hugged my neck, called me, written me, and have gone out of their way to help me change my future. I can never thank all my veteran friends, or tell them how much I appreciate or care about them. Faith in the future may not come easily for some, and some days that faith will be tested to the absolute max of it’s limits, but no matter what is going on, PLEASE reach out and let someone know if you need help.

You don’t have to be a victim anymore. Take control of your life and start to live again.

I’ve Got Your 6.

I’d like to dedicate this Blog to a few people very important to me. (Galyn, Tabby, Doc, Brian, David, Paul, David, Michaela, Thacker, Chelsey, Dustin, [just to name a few]) You know why your name is on here.

 

 

It’s Been A Long Road Getting From There To Here

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It’s Been A Long Road Getting From There To Here

Most of you probably don’t know the song that title is from, ‘Where my heart will take me’. The song speaks of a journey, a long one but finally after a long time a breakthrough, and following your heart, and faith to achieve anything because of strength of that faith and soul.

Do we have faith like that? Do we have faith in God to grant us peace in the storm? Do we have faith that God will be our light in the darkness? Do we have faith that when we are down on our knees with no where left to turn God will lift us on the wings of Angels and give us reprieve from our assorted sufferings?

There’s so much in my heart that is full of pain, it’s full of doubt, its full of fear. Multiple times over I’ve faced death. I’ve seen death in the eyes, and I’ve overcome. I’ve seen RPG’s just barely pass by me. I’ve been caught in explosions, I’ve been shot, I’ve been just seconds from death. Every step every turn I’ve been protected by Gods hands. Because Christ lives in me I have managed to overcome. No matter the long road, the destination is beyond the stars. I pray my soul to find peace. I pray that because Jesus lives I will be saved of this pain and tomorrow the day of our salvation will hold true in my heart.

As I struggle with myself, it’s my own weakness. Faith in the Lord is a hard thing to keep. It isn’t the Lord part that’s tough; knowing that because of God I am safe. Because of God I am a free man. Because of God I am alive and the only thing that matters is His love. The world may beat me, the world may torture me, but it’s the life of Jesus Christ, a high price, but I am saved in that love.

The road I’ve traveled has been a rocky road full of pain and suffering. Days like today I struggle to maintain my positive outlook, but the truth is there’s no reason I shouldn’t be positive. Christ has Risen for me. Knowing that if Christ had to die for just me, he would have. A love like that should never go to waist.

As I have lost so much, as I have had to sacrifice so much, it’s never as much as our Lord sacrificed for us. When life does me wrong, keep moving forward. When trouble knocks at the door be sure to raise to the Lord your hands in prayer, and lift our weary soul to our Almighty God. Lift higher and higher to the Lord. We may never be worthy of Gods love, but we have it anyway. Put your own ambitions aside, God will provide.

No matter the road I’ve traveled, here I am, by Gods purpose, and Gods design. I’m here typing to show there is hope. Hope for tomorrow; hope for today because in all things darkness cannot survive the light. The darkness cannot snuff out the light, but the light will always overtake the darkness. Embrace the change of the light inside you. Let the Light of Christ fill your heart and let it change you. Be born again of the light. Even in the darkest of nights the stars will shine, and will guide your path. Look to the sky and see what’s written in the stars. The Lord gives us a sign and we must follow. The Lord will always say “Trust in Me.” So in the starlight, even the words can be seen when you know how to look.

Success Ratio

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Success Ratio

 How do we rate our success in life? I used to think my success was in my career, my relationship, my GPA in college, but really I was only hurting myself in the long run. When those things are taken away what does that do to our psyche? For me when my world fell apart I fell apart. I put my faith in all the wrong places. Even as a good Christian boy I didn’t do what I was supposed to.

As I’ve gotten older my priorities have changed. Sadly, as I’ve gotten older the stakes have gotten higher. It’s hard to watch a life fall apart and have faith that tomorrow will be better. As many before me have struggled through life’s difficulties and challenges, I know that I too will not fail to make a new life for myself. I don’t pretend to know or understand the direction my life is going, but I do know no matter where it is my faith in God will be my guiding light.

No matter what hardship you’re having there are some scripture verses that help the wary heart.

Psalm 34:17 “When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.”

 Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

2 Corinthians 1:10 “He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”

 No matter the troubles, no matter your peril, your shortcomings, the Lord will be with you every step of the way. If depression and anxiety are flooding your ship don’t go into battle alone. Reach out to others and find help. There is always aid; it just takes a little effort to find it. It isn’t a sign of weakness to ask for help, it’s a sign of strength. James 1:12 “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.”

We measure our success by 1 Kings 2:3 “3 and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go” No matter how far we must travel, to Hell and back, remain steadfast in our faithful service to the Lord. Isaiah 41:10 “10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Never give up. Sometimes we may loose, but it’s how we carry ourselves. Sometimes we may give up everything for the ones we care about, and that, is a measure of success worth fighting for.

 

 

 

 

 

Change of Plans

thearrowpreacher4 Comments

Change of Plans

 People keep asking me what my plans for the future are. Now that everything in my life has fallen to pieces, the time has come to come up with a new plan. What do we do though when life doesn’t go according to our own ideas? The case can be made that since we are just pieces on the board we cannot see the whole board. The day may come when the strength of this man may fail, but I will not allow failure for as long as I draw breath, or at least that’s my plan.

God however has a different perspective. Proverbs 16:9 “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” We take our life one step at a time, one small journey or adventure at a time. I often feel as if I am wondering in the woods alone and lost. As time ticks away I have to remind myself that I am not in control, and I must ask for guidance, ask for help, seek wise counsel. The fear that comes knowing we are not to be in command of our own destiny, but the Lord above has all the power.

Lately that worry and concern seems to have consumed my everyday waking thought. I have been left with the difficult task to force myself to trust in God. The constant undertaking to believe in the plan that I myself cannot see, is hard to say the least. The end may come, but we will never be alone. Lost we may feel, but truly we are not.

Someone asked me once how God could allow so much bad to happen in this world. Why children who’ve not yet grown should die early in life. The impact of one life can change the course of a life beyond our understanding, beyond our wildest dreams. One stone may not change the course of the river, but that same stone on a narrow wooded path can change ones footing, and that could change a great deal in that regard.

My goals in life where to get married and have kids to carry on my family name and blood, but as I am now older each major step in that direction has failed, I sadly question the why. I have lost two great loves in my life, and now as the change affects me more and more every day, I wonder what is the next step for me. As this blog has been a major outlet for me, and an outreach to others, I pray that I can continue to reach others in Christ’s name. We are but pieces on the board, but what piece are we? Look at some of the greatest most influential people in history, I am sure growing up they had no idea how important they would be in history.

We cannot judge our own importance because we ourselves are too close to fully understand our worth. The plans we have for ourselves are always going to change, they are always going to adapt, and sometimes we just need to let go of the reins and let God handle the details. The amount of faith it takes to uproot and move across the country, across the world, is great. Sometimes it’s necessary to do so without a plan, without a long-term objective, but that’s what faith is sometimes. A blind leap and pray that God will catch you before you hit the bottom. Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” The final word I give to you is that of 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.”