Courage For Today

Faith

God Still Moves

Encouragement, Faith

As I am sitting here tonight, I am reflecting on what a wonderful privilege it is to worship the one true God. It is so easy, in today’s rapid paced and self-centered world, to get lost in culture and just general busyness that we forget sometimes to push back from the table and simply thank God for who HE is and what HE has done in our lives.

It is no secret that the world we live in has many, many problems and many of us are simply hurting right now. Some of you reading this right now are going through tremendous battles. Some of you don’t know how you’re going to make it to your next meal. Many of you don’t know what to expect from the next doctor’s report. Still others have loved ones who’ve gone astray and you don’t know what else to do. Whatever your situation is, we’re all hurting in some way, shape, or form and there are times we just simply want to give up. Let me assure you during those times of doubt, God still moves.

We must learn to cast our eyes on God and not the circumstances. Instead of praying that God remove you from the circumstances, pray that God delivers you through the circumstances. There is a difference. God always promises that HE will be with us, during the good and the bad. As painful as it may be, allow God to work in your life. HE will give you the strength to deliver you through your trial so that you will will come out victorious on the other side.

Allowing God to deliver you through the circumstances taps into God’s enormous strength in your life. A strength that will comfort you. A strength that will shape you. A strength that will place you in the safest place you can possibly be—in the center of God’s Will.

Other Posts You May Enjoy

[pt_view id=”760f7e8uyf”]

Importance of Faith in Your life

Faith

Godly faith is a powerful force that has the ability to transform our lives in ways we cannot even imagine. It brings us hope, strength, and a sense of purpose. No matter what challenges we face, faith guides us towards a brighter future, filling our hearts with joy and contentment. The important thing is what or who your faith is based upon. Basing our faith in the “world,” is not going to create lasting happiness or even success.  Your faith should be based on a God who never changes and who never fails.  Your life may have its ups and downs; however, having faith in God and His promises will never let you down.

Embracing Faith: A Joyful Journey Towards Strength

Faith is like a beacon of light that guides us through the darkest times. It gives us the strength to face challenges and the courage to persevere. When we have faith, we believe in God watching over us, guiding us towards our true purpose. This belief fills our hearts with a sense of peace and contentment, knowing that we are never alone in our journey. Faith empowers us to embrace life with open arms, to cherish every moment, and to find joy even in the simplest of things.

Having faith in ourselves is equally important. God gives each of us certain talents and gifts and helps us to use those talents and gifts to further Christianity.  When we have faith in God and our God-given abilities, we tap into a wellspring of inner strength that propels us forward. It gives us the confidence to overcome obstacles and the determination to achieve our goals. Faith instills a positive mindset, enabling us to see opportunities where others see only roadblocks. It enables us to push beyond our limits and discover new horizons. With faith, we can conquer our fears and unlock our true potential.

The Power of Belief

Life is full of challenges, and it is during these times that faith becomes a guiding force, transforming the seemingly impossible into miraculous achievements. Faith in God gives us the courage to step outside our comfort zones and embrace uncertainty. Our first instinct may be to go down the path we think is best, and not the path God wants us to pursue.  But having God-given Faith allows us to face our fears head-on and find creative solutions to the obstacles that come our way, with God’s guidance.  With godly faith, we can turn setbacks into opportunities for growth, disappointment into determination, and pain into strength.

Faith also helps us to develop resilience. It teaches us to bounce back from failure and not to be discouraged by temporary setbacks. God often uses these “failures” and growth and learning opportunities for down the road.  In fact, a worldly “failure” may actually be a Godly success when viewed over the long haul.

Godly faith brings us joy, peace, and a deep sense of fulfillment. Embracing godly faith allows us to tap into His strength that empowers us to face challenges head-on and transform them into miracles, all for God’s glory.  So, I encourage you to embark on your godly journey, holding onto faith as your guiding light, and discover the endless possibilities that await you.

Other Posts You May Enjoy

[pt_view id=”760f7e8uyf”]

The Necessity of Prayer

Faith

I often think about my Mom who passed away in 2006. I’ve shared this before to many, but my Mom was always a prayer warrior. She suffered from numerous health issues-too many to mention-yet always maintained a strong faith and positive outlook. We had many talks throughout my life about how much she relied on and leaned on prayer for strength. In her case, medically speaking, her faith was the only solid foundation on which she could stand. Everything else in life was like the waves in the ocean, but her faith on God never betrayed her and kept her strong.

What I always admired about her faith was that it was not “hip-pocket” faith. She didn’t pull out the Faith card when things were bad. She didn’t wait until the train rolled off the tracks to finally reach out to God. Her prayer life was every day, whether life was going good or life was going bad. She realized that her relationship with the God who controlled the universe gave her the strength for any situation.

Lately, I’ve been burdened by the significance of prayer in my own life. How I long for the faith of my mom. With life’s busyness and distractions, it is so easy to put God in second, third, or even fourth place. Matthew 22:37 says, in part, to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind.” My relationship with God is directly related to my obedience to His will and is a result of my relationship with God through prayer and reading His Word. I can’t expect to have a close relationship with any human, if I never speak to him/her. Likewise, I can’t expect to have a real and meaningful relationship with Christ, if I never commune with him through prayer.

My challenge to myself this year is to renew my heart through prayer. I want this year to be a fresh start in my prayer life resulting in a closeness that has drifted away. I pray that you’ll join me in improving your own prayer life and strengthening your relationship with God.

Other Posts You May Enjoy

[pt_view id=”760f7e8uyf”]

Delay Does Not Mean Diminished

Faith

I have such fond memories growing up of my maternal grandmother.  She lived several hours from my childhood home and I didn’t get a chance to see her often, usually only around Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Every time my family was able to visit, she made me feel like a King.  As soon as our car pulled in her driveway, she was already standing at the door of her screened-in porch waiting for me to jump out of the car.  The car door would open and before my feet hit the ground, she would be there hugging me so tight I couldn’t breathe.  Of course, she would pinch my cheeks and tell me how much I had grown and how much I looked like my Dad, at his age. It was rather embarrassing actually but certainly great to hear.

For some reason, we always headed straight to her kitchen.  Actually, it was pretty obvious why I did that.  She had spent the entire day preparing everyone’s favorite dishes.  She knew I loved spaghetti and loved lemon pies.  There before my very eyes was a huge pot of spaghetti, enough to feed the town she lived in, and a wonderful smelling lemon meringue pie.  I could hardly wait to eat and eat some more and eat even more.  I’m not sure who enjoyed the food the most–her preparing everything and enjoying watching me enjoy her feast, or me actually gulping down every bit.

My grandmother loved her family and certainly loved me and my brothers.  Needless to say, we were spoiled rotten and enjoyed every minute of our time there.  But, as with all good things, it became time for our family to end our visit and start the long drive home.  It was always hard to leave because we all loved her so much and we knew it would be many months before we saw her again.  But, deep down inside, my sadness of leaving was balanced by the excitement of knowing there would be another trip coming down the road.

As a Christian most of my life, I can think of many times when life didn’t go my way.  Times of heartache and tragedy.  Times of financial hardship.  Times of wanting something great to happen in my life, but didn’t for some reason.  Times of being impatient with God’s timing and not understanding why HE was delaying things so much.  I needed (or so I thought) for things to happen now, not next week or next month, or next year.  I sometimes looked at my friends and co-workers and saw them as “ahead” of where I should be.  The frustration and impatience was terrible.

One thing I’ve learned over my many years as a Christian is that God’s timing is never the same as my timing.  HE knows what is best for me when it is best for me.  I just have to be willing to accept that timing, as hard as it is.  Many of you reading this article now are going through one of those seasons in your own life.  A season that seems like a desert.  A season where you just don’t understand why things are not happening as quickly as you think they should or when you think they should or even how you think they should happen.

If I am speaking to you right now, I would encourage you to take some spiritual deep breathes. Thank God for what HE has already done for you and remind yourself of the blessings HE has already bestowed upon you.  Don’t forget you are always in the palm of HIS hand.

I remember all those years ago leaving my grandmother’s house and knowing that it would be such a long time before I saw her again.  But, those many month’s of delays before I saw her again never diminished the excitement when I did get to hug her once again.  Always remember that the delays in God’s timing you may be experiencing in life now will never diminish your victory when God’s timing is right for your life.

Other Posts You May Enjoy

[pt_view id=”760f7e8uyf”]

Lift Your Burdens

Faith

I was watching an old Western movie the other day, which tells you that my day was not very exciting.  The story involved a family of cowboys making the long trek over the mountains to get to their new homestead.   As was often the case in those days, the family made the decision to leave their current home and travel to unknown places in search for a better life.  I am not sure I would have the courage to make that leap of faith but it was always admirable to watch others make those journeys.

If you think about it, the journey was pretty remarkable.  Just traveling by horseback for that many miles would be tough enough.  The danger of climbing rocks and cliffs along with the possibilities of running into predators such as bears and cougars.  Not to mention, the constant search for food and water along the way.  Not fun by any stretch of the imagination.

One thing that caught my eye as I was watching this movie was that everything this family owned was basically packed on the backs of pack mules meandering down and around those winding trails. The mules carried those tremendous weights and burdens of the family’s belongings through the entire journey.  Finally, at the end of each day, the packages and boxes were lifted off the backs of the mules so that they could rest for the night.  It had not really hit me before watching this movie that the burdens of those mules could only be lifted by someone else.

What a wonderful analogy of our own life’s burdens and our relationship with Christ. How many times do we go through life carrying weight after weight and burden after burden.  Unfortunately, we carry those burdens until we seemingly collapse and never realize that it is Christ who can remove those burdens from our life.

The next time you are feeling overwhelmed and over-burdened, just ask yourself:  Are you carrying too much of a burden yourself?  Try letting Christ lighten your load and your path will be much easier.

Other Posts You May Enjoy

[pt_view id=”760f7e8uyf”]

Overcoming Challenges in Your Life

Faith

There are thousands and thousands of books and resources about success and failure and how “to get ahead” in life.  There is certainly no magic formula to succeeding and your path to success will be different than mine. Certainly, we all have different talents and abilities–and we need to develop those gifts and talents—but no amount of talent or ability will make you a success if that’s all you focus on.  Over the years, it’s occurred to me that there are six common obstacles to success.  So, I thought I would take a different approach and list some things I’ve learned that, if practiced, will do nothing to help you succeed.  Avoid these pitfalls and you’ll see your chances of success improve greatly.

  1. Having an Unteachable Spirit:  As someone who has hired, trained, and fired employees for years, there is nothing that dooms someone more quickly then being unteachable.  By unteachable, I mean the unwillingness to learn.  It always amazes me of the number of people that believe they have “arrived” and have nothing to learn. When approaching a new job or new venture, you should always take the humble approach that you don’t know everything and you can always learn from those around you.
  2. Having Unforgiven Offenses:  Forgiveness is one of the most difficult things we suffer with as Christians, as people.  When someone offends us or does something to harm us, our natural tendency is to fight back and seek revenge.  We offer many articles in our blog about forgiveness and can help you in this area, but suffice it to say that our refusal to forgive others only hurts us in the long run and hardens our heart.  You can’t be a successful leader in life with a hardened heart.
  3. Having Un-Wise Associations:  It has been said by many famous speakers, such as Zig Ziegler and others, that you are a product of the people around you and the books you read.  I totally agree.  In fact, it’s often said that your behavior is a reflection of the 5 people you spend the most time with.  I couldn’t agree more.  If you can’t seem to break through your clutter or get to the next level, check your associations.  Who are you spending time with?  Do you need to change your network of friends and associates?
  4. Having a Negative Tongue: You’ve heard the old cliche that misery loves company.  Leaders and successful people take steps to make themselves stand out from others.  When others look at you, others should see someone different.  They should see someone that they want to be like.  What they shouldn’t see (or hear) is someone that constantly tears down others.  If you are constantly saying something negative about others, I would encourage you to check your own self-confidence and self-image. There are only two ways to make yourself stand above others:  you can work hard and do the right things to make yourself stand out, or you can knock others down.  Make sure you’re not doing the latter.
  5. Having Inconsistency in Your Actions:  Speaking as a Christian, there’s nothing that sickens me more then seeing what we call “Sunday Christians.”  We’ve all seen them–those that are in church and profess to be Christians on Sunday, but live otherwise during the week.  As Christians, we have to be consistent in our actions.  Our behaviors should be the same on Tuesday, as they are on Sunday.  As leaders, we can’t treat people one way on Monday and a different way on Friday.  Certainly, we are all human and make mistakes; however, when others look at you, they should see he same person on Monday as they see on Saturday.
  6. Having an Uncommitted Heart:  Committing to anything is often the fuel that sustains you during the tough times.  Our journey will always be filled with pitfalls and setbacks.  Without commitment, you’ll give up and turn back.  Without commitment, you’ll be influenced by anything or anyone in your path that seeks to prevent your success.  Remember, not everyone will want you to succeed.  Committing to your goal will enable you to move past the nay-sayers.

I can promise you, from my own experiences, if you improve your life in these six areas, you’ll go a long way toward being a Godly success.

Other Posts You May Enjoy

[pt_view id=”760f7e8uyf”]