Be A Light!

Luke 8:16 (NIV) "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. Psalm 119:105 (NIV) Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. One of the things my wife and I enjoy watching together is a beautiful sunset. Last night while we were driving home, storm clouds were scattered across the sky. During the previous hour, the entire area received an abundance of rain accompanied by thunder and several strikes of lightning. Just above us and to the left, however, were two clouds, both were opposite colors, but were adjacent to each other. One cloud was large and fluffy, radiating the sky with a bold, reflective white color and passing on the light that it had received from the sun. The cloud immediately adjacent to it was fluffy, but had a much darker color of gray and black, and was likely another storm cloud getting ready to deliver more rain. I said to my wife that those two clouds taught me a lesson while we drove home last night. We have all received the light and love from God. Some of us are very quick to radiate and share God's love and joy to others. On the other hand, there are some people who receive the same love from God, but they have a very dismal view of life, and find it very easy to spread darkness wherever they go. Dear Friend, are you bright and happy, and are a light unto the world, or is your life a picture of darkness and disappointment? Most of us are familiar with the two verses above, and have even learned them as a child. God commands us to share His wonderful love to others, so that all may come to know Him and experience the one and only true Light of the World. Regardless of the storms in your life, which cloud will you be today? Blessings to You, Dave Henry

Be A Good Steward

 

We get filled with confusion, anger and resentment, and it can lead you in a direction that is not Godly. In this world there seems to be no ending of the things that can spin you around and lead you away from God's promise He gave to us, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). When we get to the point of feeling like there is no way we can take anymore of so and so's stuff or when we can seem to get along to the point we turn our backs on each other, we need to remember that He died to forgive us our sins, He didn't say, you know I would forgive you but…

 

            We need to remember that what we give or don't give is nothing compared to sacrifice He gave. My great grandmother used to feed squirrels out her back door, one day as she was feeding them her neighbor came out with a BB gun to shoot them. She reminded him that it was also one of God's creatures and if he would take time to just get to know them, he would feel differently. I watched as Ma talked to the man and then gave him some peanuts. He would eat one then throw one at the squirrels. It wasn't long after that Ma had passed away and my family had gone back to visit my great aunt who lived in the same house that I noticed the man sitting on the stoop in his back yard with squirrels around and a bag of peanuts next to him. He invited me to sit and feed them with him. As I sat I thought how Ma had changed the heart of this man, just by getting to know him and letting him see there was good in what he perceived to be a bad thing, she took the time to be a good steward to a person who needed the Lord's love and friendship.

 

            God has a plan for us. We need to know when to sit down and just let it take shape and when to go out and feed the squirrels. "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD." (Leviticus 19:18)

In Christ,

Rick

Confessed Sin Released Joy

Confession does not create a relationship with God, it simply nourishes it. If you are a believer, admission of sins does not alter your position before God, but it does enhance your peace with God. When you confess, you agree; you quit arguing with God and agree with Him about your sin. Unconfessed sin leads to a state of disagreement. You may be God's child, but you don't want to talk to Him. He still loves you, but until you admit what you've done, there is going to tension in the house.

But just as unconfessed sin hinders joy, confessed sin releases it. When we admit sin we are like a first grader standing before the teacher with a messy paper. "I colored outside the lines too many times. Could I start over on a clean sheet?" "Of course," says the teacher. Happy is the first grader who gets a second chance. David wrote, "Happy is the person whose sins are forgiven, whose wrongs are pardoned" (Psalm 32:1). So we dash back to our seat with a clean sheet and start over!

(from The Great House of God by Max Lucado)

 

In Christ,

Rick

Make the right decision

Making the right decision.......

Hmmmmm.... Do I have the Chicken or the Fish??? Don't you wish that more decisions were as easy as that?
Sometime we put ourselves in situations where we are faced with making a tough decision. Some of us are
JUMPERS! We jump to a decision and just wait to see what happens. Some of us are CALCULATORS! We
calculate every move and make sure the outcome will be to our benefit. Some of us are DEPENDORS! We
depend totally on someone else to make the decision for us. Making the right decision is not easy. Every
decision we make in our life falls upon another. The only true decision with a strong foundation is the
decision to follow God. With God, you know the outcome. You know what God has done for you.
Next time you have to make a tough decision why not try being just a JUMPER and a DEPENDOR! JUMP into the
hands of GOD and DEPEND GOD to help you through.

Psalm 55:22 Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you.

Have a great Day!
RTW

A Thank You

We thank you for this new day, God. Confession time: ... we're not very good at giving thanks. We tend to be takers more than givers.

 

You give us so much, only we get so turned around that we can't see what you provide for us, each and every day. We get so lost in the struggle to make ends meet, that "meat", and what it takes to buy it, becomes our end.

 

Forgive us, Lord, and free us. Open us to your simple gifts that we might be able to turn right side around; that we might, in fact, find delight in turning; that we might enjoy simply giving.

 

Today is a day for turning, O God, a new day, your day of rest and renewal. Bow us, bend us, and turn us this hour, so that these words become the song of our heart, mind, and soul: "May Jesus Christ be praised!"

In Christ,

Rick