Obedience

What does it look like to truly follow God? I was thinking about this today. Obedience is not only following when the going is easy, but it is holding the course when things get hard. God grant me the faith to be obedient, say yes, and trudge on. It seems like the best things only come when hard work is present. May I find joy in the toil and may I always look to you for Inspiration, guidance and direction. Reading the below verse through worldly eyes makes one think of power, abundance and riches, but if you stop and think of what God holds dear, thoughts quickly change to those of salvation, changed hearts, redemption, and grace. Rain down!

Deuteronomy 28

1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:

3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

7 The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.

8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in obedience to him. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.

12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.

Don't lose heart

At times it is easy to question, step back, pause, retreat....  Hebrews 12:1-3 reminds me that Jesus paid the price.  All I have to do is keep my eyes on him.  My prayer today is that I would not let life drag me down and that I would keep trusting in God for my self worth. 

Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Stand Firm

Standing Firm -- Hard, Easy, or a Roller coaster? I have been thinking about this question a-lot. For me it feels a bit like a roller coaster. At times operating in Gods power is natural and standing firm is simply a byproduct. Other times the fear of Man sets in and God's power seems to just drain out. I often wonder why I waist so much time measuring God's plan against what others might think. My prayer today is that I would stand firm not only at the easy times, but that I would stand firm during the hard times and when presented with the potential of judgement. I pray that I would rely on the strength that only God can give, and be willing to do and or go when He prompts.

Mark 13:1-10 (NIV)

1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

9 “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.

food that endures

Today I spent time reflecting on choices. I thought about how I spend my time, how I spend my money, and what I invest myself in. I find I spend a-lot of time thinking about stuff, and what I think I need. Stuff is not bad, but when it starts to consume my thought life, I know that my priorities have become skewed. Stuff only fills the void for a very short time. Once it is no longer new and simply represents a debit to my bank account, or worse yet a payment it quickly looses its luster. My prayer today is that I would long for the food that endures rather than that which spoils.

John 6:27 (New International Version, ©2011)

27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

Through the praise of children and infants

I am often in awe of the simple yet powerful faith of children. They ask fearlessly for the impossible and genuinely expect that God will answer. When they praise God it is from the heart and without fear or thought of rebuke. When they worship it is free. Oh that I would have the faith of a child.......


Psalm 8 (NIV)

1 LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?[c]
5 You have made them[d] a little lower than the angels[e]
and crowned them[f] with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their[g] feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Yield in order to Soar

My flight into Kansas City this week was early. It was 2PM 62 degrees and I did not have a meeting until the next morning. Having traveled for the last 8 hours my legs were ready for some stretching. With the help of my HTC Incredible, Google Maps and a quick search I discovered a lake with running trails a few miles away. Worship music plugged into my ears I took off for a run through the woods around the lake. Five miles later I found myself within 100 yards of my car. That is when I noticed a bald eagle 100 feet off the top of a hill soaring in circles. Over the next five min I watched as he effortlessly rode the thermals higher and higher until he became a small dot in the sky. The eagle had accomplished this amazing gain in elevation through minute adjustments in his wings. Not one time did they flap. At that moment I felt like God impressed upon me the realization that this was possible because the eagle knows where his power comes from and accepts the fact that he must yield to it in order to soar effortlessly up. I began to wonder just how much time I spend working against God’s will in my life. My prayer today is that I would recognize Gods power in my life and yield to it allowing him to carry me away.

John 3:8 (NIV)
8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”