Bitter or Better?

You've heard it said, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger".  What about these difficult and many times tragic situations that we continually endure?  What is it doing to our hearts?  What is it doing to your heart?  Is life making you bitter or better?  The thing about this life is this-it's not easy and it is never going to be.  We are born, we live, and we die, with all manner of hardships, tragedy, sorrow, illness, and loss.  We are mistaken if we think that our lives are harder than everyone else's.  Life is hard, period.  This is not paradise.  But the good news is that we are on our way home and along the way, hopefully, we will learn a few things about God and how to be like Him.  We have a choice, to become bitter or better...

How do we avoid becoming bitter?  "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."  Colossians 3:1-3 (NIV)  Set your hearts and minds on the things above.   Die to your self.   Let your life be hidden with Christ in God.  Take your eyes off of yourself and place them firmly and deliberately on the King of Glory, daily!

In 1 Peter Chapter 1:3-25,  we are given a "living" hope.  We could also call that "hope" for living.

Born Again to a Living Hope

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.  Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.  It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

Called to Be Holy

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy, in all your conduct, since it is written,"You shall be holy, for I am holy." And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,  since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for  "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.  The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever."

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.  (ESV)

We must keep these things in mind:

1.     We are born again to a "living" hope.
2.     We are tested and the result should be praise and glory and honor at
        the revelation of Jesus Christ.
3.     We should not serve ourselves but others.
4.     We should be prepared for action setting our hope fully on the grace
        that will be given to us.
5.     We should be obedient being conformed to His holiness.
6.     Our conduct should be as those ransomed by the precious blood of
        Christ.
7.     Our faith and hope are only in God.
8.     We should purify our souls by our obedience to the truth.
9.     We should love one another earnestly from a pure heart.
10.   We have been born again of the imperishable, through the living,
        abiding Word of God.

If we set our hope and minds on these things, we will be prepared when difficult times come.  Some people ask, "How can you be so calm in the midst of these things?"  The answer is this, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee."  Isaiah 26:3 (KJV)

So the choice is yours today, bitter or better?

Dear Lord,  Thank you for the precious blood of your Son who offered us the grace which we can set our hope and minds on.  Please let us conduct ourselves as those ransomed by that precious blood.

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Seek

"Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, have never abandoned anyone who searches for you." Psalm 9:10 (NLT) 

We are all seeking for something.  For some it is happiness.  For some, peace.  For some, fortune or fame, recognition for who we are, someone special, someone unique.  We all want to be important.  We all want our lives to mean something.  Many don't even care what it means as long as they don't fade into oblivion.  They act out, show off, cave in, or give up.  Some strike out and do horrible things.  For their five seconds of fame...

This world is a mixed up self centered place for most people.  They have no purpose or direction, no reason for their existence, no peace.  There is a saying that most of you have heard or seen on a bumper sticker.  "No Jesus, No Peace.  Know Jesus, Know Peace."

Jesus came to seek and save the lost.  That is all of us.  Without Him, we don't know what to do when something tragic occurs.  Without Him, we struggle and grasp and try to cope with all of the cruelty, injustice, violence, and sadness in the world. Without Him, we become depressed, confused, hopeless, useless.

Through Jesus, we have everything!  Without Him, nothing.  No matter how little or much you have, you have nothing without Him.  No matter how little or much you do, you have nothing without Him.  We won't find real happiness, true peace, new hope, or our life's meaning without Him.   We need to stop looking in all the wrong places for the answers to the questions that we have.  We need to seek answers from the only source of truth, and love, and peace, and hope that really exists in the world.

"Everything was created through him; nothing—not one thing!— came into being without him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn't put it out."  John 1:3 (The Message)

"I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.  When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. When you come looking for me, you'll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed."  Jeremiah 29:11-13 (The Message)

"My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live Him. You're deeply rooted in Him. You're well constructed upon Him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in Him, so you can see and hear Him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without Him. When you come to Him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything."  Colossians 2:7-9 (The Message)

"Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long;  we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 8:34-39 (NIV)

Dear Lord,  Thank you for what You have done for us.  Thank you that nothing shall ever separate us from Your love.

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A Fragrance Much like Hope

"Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all."  ~Emily Dickinson

"God brings death and God brings life, brings down to the grave and raises up. God brings poverty and God brings wealth; he lowers, he also lifts up. He puts poor people on their feet again; he rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, Restoring dignity and respect to their lives— a place in the sun! For the very structures of earth are God's; he has laid out his operations on a firm foundation. He protectively cares for his faithful friends, step by step, but leaves the wicked to stumble in the dark. No one makes it in this life by sheer muscle! God's enemies will be blasted out of the sky, crashed in a heap and burned. God will set things right all over the earth, he'll give strength to his king, he'll set his anointed on top of the world!"  1 Samuel 2:6  (The Message)

"Don't put your life in the hands of experts who know nothing of life, of salvation life. Mere humans don't have what it takes; when they die, their projects die with them. Instead, get help from the God of Jacob, put your hope in God and know real blessing! God made sky and soil, sea and all the fish in it. He always does what he says— he defends the wronged, he feeds the hungry. God frees prisoners— he gives sight to the blind, he lifts up the fallen. God loves good people, protects strangers, takes the side of orphans and widows, but makes short work of the wicked. "  Psalm 146:3  (The Message)

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life."  Proverbs 13:12 (ESV)

"Even youths grow tired and weary,  and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;  they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."  Isaiah 40:30-31  (NIV)

"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is."  Jeremiah 17:7  (KJV)

"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope."  Romans 15:4  (NIV)

"So reach out and welcome one another to God's glory. Jesus did it; now you do it! Jesus, staying true to God's purposes, reached out in a special way to the Jewish insiders so that the old ancestral promises would come true for them. As a result, the non-Jewish outsiders have been able to experience mercy and to show appreciation to God. Just think of all the Scriptures that will come true in what we do! For instance: Then I'll join outsiders in a hymn-sing; I'll sing to your name! And this one: Outsiders and insiders, rejoice together! And again: People of all nations, celebrate God! All colors and races, give hearty praise! And Isaiah's word: There's the root of our ancestor Jesse, breaking through the earth and growing tree tall, Tall enough for everyone everywhere to see and take hope! Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!"  Romans 15:7 (The Message)

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."  Romans 15:13 (ESV)

Dear Lord,  Let Your hope dwell within us!  Let this season bring us hope and not only to us but for the whole world.  Let us be ready to give account of the hope that we have in You today and always...

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The Hope of the World

"Nothing and no one is holy like God, no rock mountain like our God. Don't dare talk pretentiously—not a word of boasting, ever! For God knows what's going on. He takes the measure of everything that happens. The weapons of the strong are smashed to pieces, while the weak are infused with fresh strength. The well-fed are out begging in the streets for crusts, while the hungry are getting second helpings. The barren woman has a houseful of children, while the mother of many is bereft.  God brings death and God brings life, brings down to the grave and raises up. God brings poverty and God brings wealth; he lowers, he also lifts up.  He puts poor people on their feet again; he rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, restoring dignity and respect to their lives—a place in the sun! For the very structures of earth are God's; he has laid out his operations on a firm foundation. He protectively cares for his faithful friends, step by step, but leaves the  wicked to stumble in the dark. No one makes it in this life by sheer muscle! God's enemies will be blasted out of the sky,  crashed in a heap and burned. God will set things right all over the earth, he'll give strength to his king, he'll set his anointed on top of the world!"  1 Samuel 6:5-7 (The Message)

"Pay attention, my people. Listen to me, nations. Revelation flows from me. My decisions light up the world. My deliverance arrives on the run, my salvation right on time. I'll bring justice to the peoples. Even faraway islands will look to me and take hope in my saving power. Look up at the skies, ponder the earth under your feet. The skies will fade out like smoke, the earth will wear out like work pants, and the people will die off like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my setting-things-right will never be obsolete."  Isaiah 51:4  (The Message)

"Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face."  Job 13:15 (NIV)

"Why are you in despair, O my soul?  And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence." Psalm 42:5 (NASB)

"For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.   Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."  Romans 8:24-28 (ESV)

Christmas Bells

 Please be sure to watch and listen to the You Tube video also posted here today entitled, "I heard the bells on Christmas Day", sung by Jars of Clay.

The song, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", is from the Poem seen below by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow written in 1864.  The poem was rearranged and set to music in 1872 by John Baptiste Caulkin.  The original poem, "Christmas Bells",  was written by Longfellow in response to several tragedies that had occurred in his life over the span of several years.

His wife, Fanny,  died in an accident in their home on July 10, 1861. She was working with sealing wax and  unknowingly spilled several drops onto her dress.  A breeze came through the window and ignited the burning wax into flames which quickly engulfed her.  Henry tried to save her by using a rug but when that didn't work, he wrapped himself around her trying to put out the flames.  She died the next day; he himself was bed ridden with severe burns to his hands, arms, and face.

For several years he was filled with grief and that first Christmas after Fanny's death he stated, "How inexpressibly sad are all holidays." A year later he wrote, "I can make no record of these days. Better leave them wrapped in silence. Perhaps someday God will give me peace."  Since the United States Civil War started in 1861, Longfellow received more bad news nearly a year later that his oldest son, Charles, who was a lieutenant in the Army of the Potomac, had been severely wounded in Washington, D.C.  He rushed down to bring him home and after a lengthy search finally found Charles barely alive.  Charles did not die that Christmas, but lived.  It was Christmas of 1864 that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned the words of the poem, "Christmas Bells" after coming out of an extremely difficult period in his life.  President Lincoln had been reelected and there was hope that the war would end soon.  Longfellow's final stanza, "Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: 'God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!  The Wrong shall fail,  The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men!'" was loudly proclaiming that even when things are difficult and hope seems lost, God is still sovereign and He shall be victorious!

"Christmas Bells"

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
(The original poem, complete with all seven stanzas)

"I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!"

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Be Near

"Come near to God and he will come near to you."  James 4:8a (NIV)

"Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail,  but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God.  I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds."  Psalm 73:23-28 (NIV)

"God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.  Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I'm not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure.  You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing.  Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I'm back home in the house of God for the rest of my life."  Psalm 23 (The Message)

God is as close as a whisper, as near as your own beating heart.  He sits and He waits and He loves.  He wants nothing more than to spend time with you, to laugh with you, to cry with you, to give you courage and strength and hope.  So why do you leave Him waiting?  Why do you rush past Him without a thought?  Think of Him as the most wonderful Father who wants you to climb up into His lap and lay your head upon His chest.  He is wisdom and truth and grace and peace.  He offers you what the world cannot.  Everlasting love, enduring peace.  All you have to do is climb up, draw near, and listen to His whispers...

Dear Lord,  Thank you for Your everlasting love and Your enduring peace.  Let us listen to your whispers and feel Your loving embrace, Your protective arms about us.  Let us lean into Your love and open our hearts to You.

Are You Ready?

^"But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. 'Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.'  But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."  1 Peter 3:14-16 (NIV)

^"If with heart and soul you're doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you're still better off. Don't give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They'll end up realizing that they're the ones who need a bath. It's better to suffer for doing good, if that's what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. That's what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others' sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God."  1 Peter 3:13-18 (The Message)

Be ready to give account for the hope that is in you!  Are you ready?  Do you know how to give your testimony?  Do you have a testimony?  Of course you do!  If you do not have one prepared or do not feel comfortable telling the story of how you came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, then you have work to do.  We are to be prepared.  It occurred to me as I was writing my testimony in the blogpost, "How did I get this way...", that the words I was writing were exactly the words I had been telling to whomever would listen for the last 32 years.  Somewhere along the way someone had told me to think through my testimony and even write it down.  This made telling it easier because I had already prepared in my mind what I needed to say.  If you have never done this, then you need to!  What is your testimony?  Think it through and write it down and then share it!  The more practice you have the better you will be at telling it...And in scripture it says,  "He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.'"  Mark 16:15 (NIV)

Dear Lord,  Thank You for the free gift of salvation!  Help us to be prepared and ready to give an account of the hope that is within us today and everyday.  Let us not shy away from the opportunities that present themselves to us for sharing that hope with a lost world.  Help us always to be courteous and gentle when we share.  Help us to keep a clear conscience at all times making sure that we makes thing right with anyone we may have hurt or offended.

He Lifts Me Up

"The steps of a man are established by the LORD, and He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the LORD is the One who holds his hand. I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread."  Psalm 37:23-25 (NASB)

"But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head."  Psalm 3:3 (ESV)

"The Lord GOD is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds' feet, and makes me walk on my high places."  Habakkuk 3:19 (NASB)

"The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down."  Psalm 145:19 (NIV)

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." James 4:10 (NIV)

"For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."  Matthew 23:12 (NIV)

"Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted..."  James 1:9  (KJV)

"I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.  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."  Isaiah 41:9-10 (NIV)

Please pray for my daughter, Stacie, who is currently ill with H1N1 while serving the Lord in a foreign country.

Dear Lord, Thank you that we can rest in the knowledge that you will not allow us to be hurled headlong;  we will be upheld by Your righteous right hand.

As the Deer Panteth for the Water so My Soul Longeth After Thee

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." Psalm 42:1 (KJV)

"I opened my mouth wide and panted, For I longed for Your commandments." Psalm 119:31

"With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!" Psalm 119:10 (ESV)

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." Mark 12:30 (NIV)

Does your soul long for Him? Is He the most important thing is your life? Speaking from experience, the more time you spend with Him, the more time you will want to spend with Him. Our walk with the Lord is definitely cumulative! The more you stay on the path and follow after Him, the more you want to... It actually becomes too difficult to NOT be with Him. As God's word says in Psalm 19:9-11, "The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward." In this life, we seem to struggle with filling our lives with the wrong things. We want to dull the pain, fill the gap, change our tune, but we don't know how to, so we do things that end up making our situation worse. We want to fill that hole in our lives that only God can fill, but since we don't know Him, we fill it with other things, dangerous things or useless things, things that can't really help us but can definitely hurt us. We need to fill it with Him and only Him. We need to know Him. And you can't do that without spending time with Him in His Word.

So let's be as the deer panting for the water and let our souls long for Him. I guarantee you that the more you seek Him, the more you will find Him! "Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near." Isaiah 55:6 (NASB) Let us be like David who said, "O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water." Psalm 63:1 (NASB)

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV)

"You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." I know this world can be very distracting. It can also be devastating. This world is full of heartache, heartbreak, and heartsickness. As God's children, we have the assurance of His presence through every difficulty and trial. "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV) Continue to seek Him with all your heart and you will find Him.

Dear Lord, Thank you that You are always there for us, waiting and watching, wanting to spend time with us and teach us who You really are. Help us to desire You, to seek You, to trust You. Help us to be continually walking behind You on the path of life...

The Idols of a Nation

Psalm 135:15-18 "The idols of the nations are but silver and gold, The work of man's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; they have eyes, but they do not see; they have ears , but they do not hear; nor is there any breath at all in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, yes, everyone who trusts in them."

Are the idols of our nation the "American Dream?" Do we idolize the way life should be and turn our backs on God when our "dreams" for ourselves don't turn out the way we want them to? What is the definition of idolatry? Well the simplest definition is that idolatry is the pursuit of what you consider most important. We tend to go after these things with our whole being and we will do whatever it takes to get what we want. We can idolize money, houses, cars, technology (and the use of it!), acceptance, dreams, and even our families! If you want to find out what is most important to you, sit down and look at your life and see what you spend the most time on. Look at what you do to get what you want. Is God sitting on the throne of your life or is something else?

Even our dreams of the way we thought our life would go can become most important and take our eyes off of the Lord. Perhaps you are going through something difficult: illness, job loss, loss of a loved one, financial distress, broken dreams for your family or your children. Some of us are very adept at trying to control our lives, but there comes a time when we can't control everything anymore, when something comes along that is just plain "out of our control". If you are in the midst of a situation like that consider this quote from C.S. Lewis:

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our circumstance, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

And this quote from Pete Wilson's new book Plan B, "We must be willing, if necessary, to abandon the life we've planned and dreamed of in order to receive the life that our God has authored for us."

You may not be able to choose everything that happens in your life. It's just not in your control, but you can choose how you respond to these circumstances.

Job 42:5 says, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You." Sometimes it takes adversity or a long journey in a different direction for us to see who God really is. If we have other things sitting on the throne of our lives (including ourselves), we may need to stop pursuing all those other things and turn our eyes upon Jesus. We may need to yield to our journey and keep our eyes fixed on Him.

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:1-3


Dear Lord, Teach us to keep our eyes fixed on You, the author and perfecter of faith. Help us to take down all of the other idols that we have set up in our lives including the idol of how we think life should be, and make us into the people You want us to be. Let us pursue You with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Help us to remember that even though we will have trouble in this world, You have overcome the world.