Thursday, April 22, 2010

Earth Day!

Most people think of Earth Day as the day everyone gets on the band wagon to save the planet earth from destruction due to "global warming" and littering, etc. I think of it as a day to take time and thank God for this beautiful place he made for me to enjoy.

I have recently moved to the mountains of Colorado, even though I have visited many times for many years never really saw the beauty until now. Same with the state I grew up in. I knew it was nice and all, but didn't appreciate it's beauty till now. We go through life at such a fast pace we don't take the time to slow down and look at what all is around us. This beautiful place God chose to give us to tend. Yes we do not take very good care of it, and yes we should, and we should be thankful the beauty is still here for us to enjoy. Around the world people are destroying the beauty and not realizing what they are doing, they are dstroying something God created with his hands. I challenge all those who read this post that by the end of the day you have stopped and looked around you and really see the beauty and I pray you make a covenant with God to do something to help keep this place beautiful even if it is just getting out once a week and walking around and looking at the beauty and picking up trash as you walk and putting it in a plastic bag and then into a trash can somewhere.

So get out and enjoy this beautiful day the Lord has made.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Run The Race Set Before You......

"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." Hebrew 12:1 (Holy Bible New International Version"

Another translations says: "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensures us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us...." Hebrews 12:1 (The Word in Life Study Bible)

These verse came to mind today as I was sitting watching my daughters track meet. As I was watching the different races and the different runners and how they were running, God spoke to me and told me this how the people I fashioned in my image run the race I have set before them.

Before I go on, let me explain what I saw. First at a track meet there are several races there are the relay races where one runner hands off the baton to another runner, there are the long distance races such as the 1/2 mile and the mile (which they refer to as the 800 meter and 1600 meter race) and then there is the short distance races. As for the runners there were some really fast runners, some paced runners and some slow runners and some that started out slow but when they looked back and noticed another runner gaining on them they took off and ran faster.

Now with that explanation out of the way, here is what God showed me.

We run our race the same way these kids at the track meet did. Some of us are here to carry the baton and then pass it on to others, to continue what we have started....this could be a number of things, it could be a pastor passing on information to his congregation and then those taking what they learned out into thier own ministries, or it could be a ministry started that is now being carried on by someone else. There are those who just pace themselves through life, never look back just keep their eyes ahead and focused on one thing......just finishing the race...these are the ones who sit in church Sunday after Sunday and never pursue the gifts or the true calling God has given them. They are content to just sit and wait for the return of Jesus. Then there are those who run fast and never look back. These are the ones who are on fire for Jesus and they are determined to never let that fire die.....and there are some who start out fast but slow down and those are the ones who start out with zeal but allow their flame to be dosed out. Last but not least those who are running from something, and everytime they look back it gets closer and closer and they can't seem to out run it.....these are the ones Christians need to be reaching out to and telling them about Jesus and how he died for there sins. These are the ones who are running from their past, thier sins, the devil or running from God, whatever they are running from they always will as long as they keep looking back and not forward to the prize. That is where we as christians step in and tell these ones who are running from something or who are just pacing themselves through life, about Jesus. If we don't tell them about Jesus or get them motivated to run the race God has set before them their prize in Heaven will be minimal at best. (If they make it there). So we need to check our pace and we need to see how we are running our race are we slow, fast, running from something or not running at all.

One last race I watched was the hurdles and God reminded me of this. In the race he has set before each and every one of us there are hurdles we must jump (overcome) no matter how fast or slow we are going we must jump those hurdles this is how we grow in him. There are many called but only few chosen.....so if you are one of the few chosen be thankful and jump those hurdles for great is your prize in heaven.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

True Love

A friend on FB posted the other day about how noone can stop the hurt True Love can cause....something to that effect...Anyway it opened up a thought process and God spoke to my heart and said.....

"There are so many people out there who are confused about True Love. They really don't know True Love if they don't know me personally. They think this love they feel towards someone is True Love, but it is not."

I pondered this thought for a while and realized that yes God is True Love. The teens and some adults now days go through many boyfriends/girlfriends searching for that true love and they are searching in the wrong place. They need to be seeking God the Father for True Love and once they find that and begin to have a real true relationship with him will they understand True Love and then will they find the person God intends for them to share their life's journey with. If you research in your bible there are many references to love. The real definition of love and what love is can be found in I Corinthians 13:4-8 (but if you read on it will also explain True Love to you).

So for those of you who think you know True Love, I have one question for you.....Is your one and True Love God the Father or is it your latest Girl/Boyfriend? Without True Love in your heart and a relationship with that one True Love you can't have a real relationship with any human, it will fail you everytime.