Thought of the Day !!

Cast your cares on the LORD

   and he will sustain you;

   he will never let the righteous fall.

                         Psalm 55:22 (NIV)

Can you cast your cares (or your burdens) on the Lord?  There are some things that God doesn't necessarily take away.  Paul said that he had a "thorn in his flesh" that he prayed would go away three times.  But he understood that God had a purpose for whatever this "thorn" was.  

We may have thorns that God will use to strengthen us.  But we were never meant to carry around things like doubt and sin.  He wants us to cast these things upon Him so that He can dispose of them.  Doubt is something that I used to struggle with a lot.  How about you?  Do you doubt that God could love you?  Do you ever doubt that God would call you?  Do you doubt your capabilities or your strength or your witness?  Do you doubt your righteousness before God?

When we, as Christ followers, doubt these things, we doubt God who is behind them.  For He has faithfully made us and is behind us all the way.

Cast your doubts on the Lord and he will sustain you.  He has made us righteous by the blood of His Son.  And He, who has the power to raise Jesus from the dead, has the power to keep you and me up, not allowing us to completely succumb to doubt, fear or sin.  

In the love of Christ,

greg

Thought of the Day !!

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it." 

                                       Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)

Have you ever, or are you now in a place of confusion about the direction of your life?  I know that there have been times in my life where I just wanted to scream out "Which Way God?!"  

God is watching and caring for us no matter where we are.  He's also guiding us.  It's just that sometimes He lets us find our own way to where He wants us to be.  The cool thing is, though, when we're getting too far off course, we'll hear His voice or feel His touch bringing us back on track.  

I know that there have been times in many of our lives where we were just unsure.  My advice is to keep struggling.  And most importantly, keep seeking the Lord's guidance.  If we do, He'll speak to us saying, "This is the way, walk in it."  

May today be a day of searching.  May we all search for God's guidance in our lives.

In the love of Christ,

greg

Thought of the Day !!

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

                                   1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)

Did you realize that you are chosen by God to declare Him to others.  You were blessed when you were saved, but not so that you would keep that blessing to yourself.  I've always heard that we are blessed to be a blessing to others.

How often do others see genuine praise and gladness from us who have been given a second chance through Jesus Christ?  How often do people have to take notice because we are just so excited about Jesus?  How many people will know Jesus is real by seeing Him in you and me?

Declare the praises of him who called you out of the darkness of your sin that was leading you to death, and into his wonderful light that leads to eternal life.

In the love of Christ,

greg

Thought of the Day !!

Therefore, go and give this message to Israel. This is what the Lord says:

“O Israel, my faithless people,

    come home to me again,

for I am merciful.

    I will not be angry with you forever.

Only acknowledge your guilt.

    Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God

and committed adultery against him

    by worshiping idols under every green tree.

Confess that you refused to listen to my voice.

    I, the Lord, have spoken!

                   Jeremiah 3:12-13 (NLT)

Jeremiah is told to give this message to Israel, but as I read it today I saw the same message for us here in America.  So many of us have lost our way.  People who were brought to church as children have turned elsewhere in adulthood to find meaning and purpose. Many have sought these things in other gods such as drugs or gangs.  Others have sought the gods of power or more and more money.  Still others seek the pleasures of multiples sexual partners.  There are many more “gods” in our culture that we can seek on a daily basis.

Israel sought the gods of their neighbors.  At times they even went as far as sacrificing children to the god of Molech.  How far they had fallen from the one true God.  And how far we have fallen from the same one true God when we seek our life’s purposes elsewhere.

BUT…if we will listen to Jeremiah’s message there is hope.  God says that he won’t be angry forever if they (we) will only acknowledge their (our) guilt and in essence turn back to Him.  What we have now that they did not have then is the sacrifice of God’s Son for the forgiveness of sins.  We know now that if we will change from the ways that are contrary to God’s will for us that all will be forgiven. 

Maybe you have not placed your whole life in pursuit of some other god.  Maybe there are, however, some gods in your life that are trying to make their way up the ladder in your list of priorities.  Seek those out today and ask God to give you the strength to put them down and to find your complete meaning and purpose and joy in Him.

In the love of Christ,

greg

Thought of the Day !!

Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

                             Hebrews 10:24 (NIV)

Have you ever considered how you might "spur" another person towards love and doing good?  We can do this partly by showing love to each other and being an example of one who does good deeds for others.  Another way we can do this is by holding each other accountable.  Let us spur each other on towards love by gently (and maybe not so gently at times depending on what the situation warrants) pointing out where love and forgiveness should be had.

But remember, if we're going to spur others, we must also be prepared to be spurred ourselves.  Too often we can forget to do good or allow bitterness or anger to spur us on without even realizing it.  It is in these times that we have to welcome those who may be gently (or not so gently) trying to point this out to us. 

This is part of what Christ was saying when he commanded us to love one another as he loves us.

In the love of Christ,

greg