Proverbs 28:1
"The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion."
OK, really? No one is chasing him, and....he's running???? Why?
You have to admit, that is pretty funny. I mean, I thought that was called being paranoid, maybe that is just me. But in all honesty he's running because he is doing something wrong, and he knows it, so he feels the need to hide it. Even though no one has any idea he has done it, he does, and feels guilty. Therefore, he feels this need to hide it, because; even though he claims not to care what anyone thinks, he really does.
However, the one who does the right thing honestly does not care what anyone thinks, or says because they know they are in the right. And, they have nothing to hide and no reason to run away from anything. One of the true marks of a leader is the first one to do the right thing. The one doing right is bold, straight forward and honest, no matter the cost, because; they have nothing to hide.
".....the righteous are as bold as a lion."
Friday, February 12, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Talkin' BIG
Proverbs 27:1
"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what the day will bring forth."
I think that spells it out pretty well, but I'll do my best to expand upon this.
Ever hear the term, "don't count your chickens before they hatch?" Well, that's basically what this verse is saying, just not in those words. We should all make plans for our futures, but we should never set things up so, that if they don't work out exactly the way we plan, that we are in trouble. And, NONE of us know the future, and exactly how it will turn out, because all the eggs don't always hatch, and things happen we don't expect like: children, divorce, losing a scholarship, death of a loved one, loss of income and illness. Most of those can be unforeseen and sometimes, unwanted happenings in life. But they happen it's part of life and we must adjust.
It is OK to talk about your plans for the future plans, don't get me wrong, you should have aim and direction. That is one of the things that give you hope for tomorrow, but at that same time you should be flexible, and follow what God has for you, because His plan for your life might be very different than the one you have for it now, and it may be even more amazing. For example:
There is a man and his wife that I know, wonderful people! He was a chemical engineer, had a 6 figure income, the nice house, the fancy cars, beautiful awesome Godly wife, great relationship with God. You name it! One day he was talking with the Lord like any other day, and the Lord told Him to quite his job, and take what he had and put it into a mental health ministry. Of course he thought he was just he was imagining it, or God was messing with him, so he shook it of and went one with his life. A few days later, i don't remember how long they said, his lovely wife came to him and said she felt like the Lord was saying something, and repeated what the Lord said to him. So in that case, he decide to obey, quite his job, and down sized everything. Today Brain Knight runs the Asher Mental Health Ministries in Lumberton, NC. And from what I can tell they have been blessed by God, but so many lives have been blessed because of their obedience to the Lord. And we must always remember, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. " ( Proverbs 16:9 )
".....you do not know what a day may bring forth."
"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what the day will bring forth."
I think that spells it out pretty well, but I'll do my best to expand upon this.
Ever hear the term, "don't count your chickens before they hatch?" Well, that's basically what this verse is saying, just not in those words. We should all make plans for our futures, but we should never set things up so, that if they don't work out exactly the way we plan, that we are in trouble. And, NONE of us know the future, and exactly how it will turn out, because all the eggs don't always hatch, and things happen we don't expect like: children, divorce, losing a scholarship, death of a loved one, loss of income and illness. Most of those can be unforeseen and sometimes, unwanted happenings in life. But they happen it's part of life and we must adjust.
It is OK to talk about your plans for the future plans, don't get me wrong, you should have aim and direction. That is one of the things that give you hope for tomorrow, but at that same time you should be flexible, and follow what God has for you, because His plan for your life might be very different than the one you have for it now, and it may be even more amazing. For example:
There is a man and his wife that I know, wonderful people! He was a chemical engineer, had a 6 figure income, the nice house, the fancy cars, beautiful awesome Godly wife, great relationship with God. You name it! One day he was talking with the Lord like any other day, and the Lord told Him to quite his job, and take what he had and put it into a mental health ministry. Of course he thought he was just he was imagining it, or God was messing with him, so he shook it of and went one with his life. A few days later, i don't remember how long they said, his lovely wife came to him and said she felt like the Lord was saying something, and repeated what the Lord said to him. So in that case, he decide to obey, quite his job, and down sized everything. Today Brain Knight runs the Asher Mental Health Ministries in Lumberton, NC. And from what I can tell they have been blessed by God, but so many lives have been blessed because of their obedience to the Lord. And we must always remember, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. " ( Proverbs 16:9 )
".....you do not know what a day may bring forth."
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Sticks and stones may break my bones.....
James 3:1-12
"Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."
Ever hear the little saying growing up"sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?" Usually it's yelled at someone on the playground being a big meanie head, yes I just said meanie head. The truth is, that saying is a lie, as Pastor Fletcher at Manna Church once said, "sticks and stones may break the bones, but words will crush the spirit." Yes my friends "the tongue has the power of life and death" ( Proverbs 18:21 ), we should very careful with the things we say, because; we can really hurt others, and ourselves. It goes Back to the whole "slow to speak" ( James 1:19 ) thing.
We can hurt our friends by saying thoughtless/careless things, or saying cruel and pointed and very uncalled for things, now most of us don't want to hurt our friends from just plain meanness. But, sometimes we do because we are broken sinful creatures. Now grated, there are times when someones feelings will be hurt because we told them the Truth out of love, but that is another blog entirely! So, we really do need to think BEFORE we speak when it come to those we love, and figure out what is behind the thought. If it is love that is one thing, pray about it and ask God to help you know what to say, but if it is just hatefulness, there is this wonderful trick my mother showed me, and i will be glad to tell you about it:
Step 1: Part teeth, while maintaining your lips sealed.
Step 2: Put tongue between teeth, still maintaining your lips sealed.
Now this one is very important, please read carefully!
Step 3: Bite down on tongue, HARD, as hard as you can stand it!!
(just be careful not to actually bite your tongue off, this can be and unfortunate side effect)
Now the fun part, hurting ourselves. I know I do this one, we all do. It may not seem like it at the time, but it can come back to bite us. A good example would be work, you want a promotion, or a raise in pay. And you work hard, but you talk to other employees about the boss, and say some not so nice things about them, and it gets back to them. Do you really think your going to get that promotion, or pay raise as soon as you hoped, or at all for that matter?? Or even in your daily life, you can make some enemies or drive people way just for running your mouth to much. Because, i mean really think about it, who really want to be around someone who, gossips, slanders another, says cruel things, is picking at them all the time, complaining about their life constantly, knows EVERYTHING all...the...time, or just attacking seemingly every chance they get??? Hey, I know I don't want to be around someone like that. That would be another place for my mothers trick, and if you hear yourself talking and no one else, that would be a clue to shut your mouth.
But, the reality of it is, we are broken, sinful creature, whom will never attain perfection. And, will mess up...ALOT! We must consistently give it back to God, and ask Him to speak thru us, and give us the words we need, to make the best possible impact on others, and our own lives. So that we may stay on the course he has for us. Let God be the pilot of the ships that are our lives.
"....take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go."
"Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."
Ever hear the little saying growing up"sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?" Usually it's yelled at someone on the playground being a big meanie head, yes I just said meanie head. The truth is, that saying is a lie, as Pastor Fletcher at Manna Church once said, "sticks and stones may break the bones, but words will crush the spirit." Yes my friends "the tongue has the power of life and death" ( Proverbs 18:21 ), we should very careful with the things we say, because; we can really hurt others, and ourselves. It goes Back to the whole "slow to speak" ( James 1:19 ) thing.
We can hurt our friends by saying thoughtless/careless things, or saying cruel and pointed and very uncalled for things, now most of us don't want to hurt our friends from just plain meanness. But, sometimes we do because we are broken sinful creatures. Now grated, there are times when someones feelings will be hurt because we told them the Truth out of love, but that is another blog entirely! So, we really do need to think BEFORE we speak when it come to those we love, and figure out what is behind the thought. If it is love that is one thing, pray about it and ask God to help you know what to say, but if it is just hatefulness, there is this wonderful trick my mother showed me, and i will be glad to tell you about it:
Step 1: Part teeth, while maintaining your lips sealed.
Step 2: Put tongue between teeth, still maintaining your lips sealed.
Now this one is very important, please read carefully!
Step 3: Bite down on tongue, HARD, as hard as you can stand it!!
(just be careful not to actually bite your tongue off, this can be and unfortunate side effect)
Now the fun part, hurting ourselves. I know I do this one, we all do. It may not seem like it at the time, but it can come back to bite us. A good example would be work, you want a promotion, or a raise in pay. And you work hard, but you talk to other employees about the boss, and say some not so nice things about them, and it gets back to them. Do you really think your going to get that promotion, or pay raise as soon as you hoped, or at all for that matter?? Or even in your daily life, you can make some enemies or drive people way just for running your mouth to much. Because, i mean really think about it, who really want to be around someone who, gossips, slanders another, says cruel things, is picking at them all the time, complaining about their life constantly, knows EVERYTHING all...the...time, or just attacking seemingly every chance they get??? Hey, I know I don't want to be around someone like that. That would be another place for my mothers trick, and if you hear yourself talking and no one else, that would be a clue to shut your mouth.
But, the reality of it is, we are broken, sinful creature, whom will never attain perfection. And, will mess up...ALOT! We must consistently give it back to God, and ask Him to speak thru us, and give us the words we need, to make the best possible impact on others, and our own lives. So that we may stay on the course he has for us. Let God be the pilot of the ships that are our lives.
"....take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go."
Monday, February 8, 2010
Here's a good seat for you.
James 2:1-9
"My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong? If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers."
If you accept only the so called "normal" people you are really just fooling yourself. Sometimes those people are not the kindest or the most Godly, despite their appearance. They are like apples that the center has gone bad, most of the time you can't tell it's gone bad until you bite or cut into it, however; if you look close enough there are signs to the rotting on the inside. While other's may look very different, or rough on the outside, they may have the sweetest hearts and the most amazing relationship with God. These people are more like bananas, the black spotty ones are the sweetest and you can make the best banana bread out of them, but unfortunately some people are fooled by this, think they have gone bad and throw them away.
I guess what I'm trying to say, is we should treat everyone equal, no matter who they are, what their beliefs are, or how they appear to live their life. If you just reject someone or treat them badly simply because they are different, you may never get the chance to know how truly amazing they are as a person. And, everyone is worthy of respect and love. We should always treat others they way we want to be treated. Actually, they should be treated better, by treating them in the same way Christ himself would treat them.
".....if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers."
"My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong? If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers."
If you accept only the so called "normal" people you are really just fooling yourself. Sometimes those people are not the kindest or the most Godly, despite their appearance. They are like apples that the center has gone bad, most of the time you can't tell it's gone bad until you bite or cut into it, however; if you look close enough there are signs to the rotting on the inside. While other's may look very different, or rough on the outside, they may have the sweetest hearts and the most amazing relationship with God. These people are more like bananas, the black spotty ones are the sweetest and you can make the best banana bread out of them, but unfortunately some people are fooled by this, think they have gone bad and throw them away.
I guess what I'm trying to say, is we should treat everyone equal, no matter who they are, what their beliefs are, or how they appear to live their life. If you just reject someone or treat them badly simply because they are different, you may never get the chance to know how truly amazing they are as a person. And, everyone is worthy of respect and love. We should always treat others they way we want to be treated. Actually, they should be treated better, by treating them in the same way Christ himself would treat them.
".....if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers."
Sunday, February 7, 2010
What was the point again????
James 1:22-25
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what is says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that give freedom and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does."
I think the Nike people got it right.
JUST DO IT!!!
Hhhhmmmm, this is useful for so many things.
It's good to learn things, but if you don't use it or put it in to action, what was the point?? It would be as if you never learned it at all. You can read self help books, go to seminars, go to counseling, and talk to everyone under the sun all you want. But if you never put what you have learned in to action, and walk it out in your life things will never change, and you will be even more unhappy than you were before hand, because you know it could be better. Some will say, "well it just didn't work learning all those things." WELL, there in lays the problem they never bothered USING the tools given to them! "HELLO! MCFLY!!!"
You know, If you know should then do it, then DO IT! Because if you don't you are, in fact, sinning! James 4:17 "ANYONE, then, who knows the good he ought to do and does not DO IT, sins." And, I'm not going to sitting here and tell you it's going to be fun or easy. I will tell you it might hurt, and it might hurt alot, and it might be hard. However, if you do it God WILL bless you and trust me, it WILL be worth it. All you have to do is stick close to God, give it back to Him, and JUST DO IT!
"....He will be blessed in what he does."
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what is says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that give freedom and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does."
I think the Nike people got it right.
JUST DO IT!!!
Hhhhmmmm, this is useful for so many things.
It's good to learn things, but if you don't use it or put it in to action, what was the point?? It would be as if you never learned it at all. You can read self help books, go to seminars, go to counseling, and talk to everyone under the sun all you want. But if you never put what you have learned in to action, and walk it out in your life things will never change, and you will be even more unhappy than you were before hand, because you know it could be better. Some will say, "well it just didn't work learning all those things." WELL, there in lays the problem they never bothered USING the tools given to them! "HELLO! MCFLY!!!"
You know, If you know should then do it, then DO IT! Because if you don't you are, in fact, sinning! James 4:17 "ANYONE, then, who knows the good he ought to do and does not DO IT, sins." And, I'm not going to sitting here and tell you it's going to be fun or easy. I will tell you it might hurt, and it might hurt alot, and it might be hard. However, if you do it God WILL bless you and trust me, it WILL be worth it. All you have to do is stick close to God, give it back to Him, and JUST DO IT!
"....He will be blessed in what he does."
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Take note of this...
James 1:19-20
"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires."
What can I say really?? James is pretty to the point for the most part, he doesn't mess around.
James is right on target, we should take our time taking everything in, make sure you've got everything straight, and understand what is really going on first. If that means taking time to weed through some one's story with them then do so, before you open your mouth so you don't put your foot in it, because; there is always three sides to every story, "his side, her side, and then there is the truth."
When it comes to the anger part, be really slow, like a snail's pace if you can, because; when you lose your temper quickly you tend to look a little foolish. Sometimes if you had listened first you would have never got angry in the first place, and even if you do get angry and you take your time getting there, it may not be as explosive and far less feelings will be hurt. And you will be able to think about what upsets you about the situation, and explain it to that person in a far more loving way.
hope all this makes sense, it's late and it all made sense in my head, lol!
"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires."
What can I say really?? James is pretty to the point for the most part, he doesn't mess around.
James is right on target, we should take our time taking everything in, make sure you've got everything straight, and understand what is really going on first. If that means taking time to weed through some one's story with them then do so, before you open your mouth so you don't put your foot in it, because; there is always three sides to every story, "his side, her side, and then there is the truth."
When it comes to the anger part, be really slow, like a snail's pace if you can, because; when you lose your temper quickly you tend to look a little foolish. Sometimes if you had listened first you would have never got angry in the first place, and even if you do get angry and you take your time getting there, it may not be as explosive and far less feelings will be hurt. And you will be able to think about what upsets you about the situation, and explain it to that person in a far more loving way.
hope all this makes sense, it's late and it all made sense in my head, lol!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Consider it joy...
James 1:2-4
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds, because you know that the testing or your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything."
( Perseverance meaning-Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness )
We should consider trails pure joy, with the knowledge that God does not allow things in our lives that we can't handle. No matter how it extreme it may seem at the time. These things come so we can learn and grow from them, it may be a new lesson, or something we already to knew and did not adhere to, in the case of the second part He allows these things over and over, often increasing in severity until we finally get it. And, as in any case He is trying to teach us something, but sometimes He is trying to teach someone else something through you, because; you are strong enough to handle it, and that person may not be, or they could not learn by their own life and the only way to teach them that lesson is through someone they love.
In any matter we must persevere, or we will never fully make it to that place that God wants us.
As in the the case with my mother, when the doctor told her she had cancer she cried as any normal human would. She had the surgery to remove it and then made a trip down to the Living Foods institute ( a holistic healing place ) were she proceeded to cleanse and become a raw vegan. For awhile, there was no sign of cancer, and then she start to slip back in to some of her old eating habits ( no one is perfect ), as this happened the cancer reappeared. She very quickly went back down to the center to get back on track, refusing to do chemo (Sp?) and radiation. One trip back to the doctor showed that the cancer had grown, but it wasn't as big as they thought it was going to be for a fast growing cancer. Many in my family kept pushing my mother to do chemo and radiation, totally out of love and wanting to keep her alive, but she still refused. Telling them in a very loving way that she truly believes God would bless her and heal her by eating the way her body need, and trusting God wholly, that she only needs to persever. And that perseverance is paying off, when she goes to the doctor they tell her everything looks normal, the only real way for them to tell she has it is the fact that they can see it, and the cancer has shrank, and stopped doing anything all together, it's just there. And my mother, my family, and I know that if she keeps persevering, and trusting God as she has from the beginning she will be totally healed and free.
"Perseverance must finish it's work...."
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds, because you know that the testing or your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything."
( Perseverance meaning-Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness )
We should consider trails pure joy, with the knowledge that God does not allow things in our lives that we can't handle. No matter how it extreme it may seem at the time. These things come so we can learn and grow from them, it may be a new lesson, or something we already to knew and did not adhere to, in the case of the second part He allows these things over and over, often increasing in severity until we finally get it. And, as in any case He is trying to teach us something, but sometimes He is trying to teach someone else something through you, because; you are strong enough to handle it, and that person may not be, or they could not learn by their own life and the only way to teach them that lesson is through someone they love.
In any matter we must persevere, or we will never fully make it to that place that God wants us.
As in the the case with my mother, when the doctor told her she had cancer she cried as any normal human would. She had the surgery to remove it and then made a trip down to the Living Foods institute ( a holistic healing place ) were she proceeded to cleanse and become a raw vegan. For awhile, there was no sign of cancer, and then she start to slip back in to some of her old eating habits ( no one is perfect ), as this happened the cancer reappeared. She very quickly went back down to the center to get back on track, refusing to do chemo (Sp?) and radiation. One trip back to the doctor showed that the cancer had grown, but it wasn't as big as they thought it was going to be for a fast growing cancer. Many in my family kept pushing my mother to do chemo and radiation, totally out of love and wanting to keep her alive, but she still refused. Telling them in a very loving way that she truly believes God would bless her and heal her by eating the way her body need, and trusting God wholly, that she only needs to persever. And that perseverance is paying off, when she goes to the doctor they tell her everything looks normal, the only real way for them to tell she has it is the fact that they can see it, and the cancer has shrank, and stopped doing anything all together, it's just there. And my mother, my family, and I know that if she keeps persevering, and trusting God as she has from the beginning she will be totally healed and free.
"Perseverance must finish it's work...."
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