Thanksgiving. What it means to some people is a day to gorge on turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, gravy, and of course a usual tradition of pumpkin pie. Cannot forget the dessert now can we? Of course as for me and my family we did all the above on this last Thursday of November as we close out yet another month. Except for the fact we had cheesecake and blackberry pie (great with vanilla icecream by the way) :). But do we really know why we are giving thanks to begin with?
Now I am sure there are a lot of reasons to give thanks. Some give thanks for their car, home, children, food, and so on. Things that matter and some things that probably do not matter. But are we forgetting something? Or better yet, are we forgetting someone? What about God? What about Christ? Do we take time to thank Him for what He has done or even so what He has provided for us? I mean everything we have is because of Him right? I am not saying not to give thanks for what you have. Big things and small things. We all do. I do. But we must not forget the greatest thing anyone one person can receive. Salvation.
11/26/09
11/20/09
Peace
There is something about God that I think we do not understand to well. Now I know we will never grasp every concept or idea that God has, but there is one that we as Christians need to get a hold of and really understand. That is the "peace" He can bestow upon His children. even if we are in the darkest hour, deepest valley, in the middle of a storm, there can be a peace that surrounds us.
His Word tells us in Matthew 6:25 "not to worry about everyday life...". Well whether we like it or not life is always going to be there until He takes us and either brings us home or we spend eternity in hell (which that is another subject). Life is life and it always hits us right in the face. Everyday we wake up, every breath we take there is life. Another day means another worry or another issue we may have to face. The good news is we do not have to face it alone. There is a God...the only God who can give you "peace beyond understanding". Now I know that life is still there the problems are still going to be there, but now, through a relationship with God we can walk thru it not alone, but with Him. He says not to worry because He is in control and He already knows the outcome.
His Word tells us in Matthew 6:25 "not to worry about everyday life...". Well whether we like it or not life is always going to be there until He takes us and either brings us home or we spend eternity in hell (which that is another subject). Life is life and it always hits us right in the face. Everyday we wake up, every breath we take there is life. Another day means another worry or another issue we may have to face. The good news is we do not have to face it alone. There is a God...the only God who can give you "peace beyond understanding". Now I know that life is still there the problems are still going to be there, but now, through a relationship with God we can walk thru it not alone, but with Him. He says not to worry because He is in control and He already knows the outcome.
11/18/09
God's Plan
Jeremiah 29:11 states: "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a hope and a future."
You see everything we go through, every aspect of our lives is already known by God. He knows every step before we even think about taking it. Not only does He know every step He knows the very outcome and result of that step. It is no coincidence I am here before you today. God knew it, He planned it, and He knows the outcome. Isn’t an awesome and peaceful feeling, knowing that God already knows the outcome of our situations? We may not see the final outcome as of yet, but it is comforting to know that God does and according to His Word the plans He has for us are not to harm us or destroy us, but to bring us a hope and a future! But, there is a stipulation to this passage of Scripture. How many of you know today that when God promises something to us there is always a stipulation?
2 Chronicles 7:14
“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.”
“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.”
You see God will hear from heaven, He will forgive sins, He will heal the land, but first they and we have to humble ourselves and pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways, then and only then will He fulfill His promise! So what is the stipulation in Jeremiah 29:11? I am glad you asked…you ready?
For I know the plans I have for you! It doesn’t say the plans you have for yourself, no it says the plans God has for us, those plans are to give us a hope and a future and not destroy. You see when we take matters into our own hands, when we plan out our lives according to what we want and we leave God out of the picture, we do not have a hope, we do not have a future. But when we do give our lives over to God and follow His plan we do have a hope and future.
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