Love God Love Others

What do your actions reflect? I ask this question because as I was spending time in prayer this morning this very question exploded within me and really forced me to take a long hard look at myself. A better question would be; what affect either directly or indirectly are my actions having towards others? Do your actions cause a good and encouraging impact to others or do they cause others to question your motives? Do your actions help or hinder? Most importantly; do your actions bring honor to God?

This could be something as simple as how you speak. How you treat others. Even how you look at others. You see Jesus said that they (an unbelieving world) will know we are his disciples by the love we show one another (John 13:35). Are we always showing love to others? Do our actions say that "I'd rather show love than be right?" Sometimes we are in fact 100% correct in our assessment of other believers but we have to choose to live out John 13:35. In 1 Corinthians 13:2 the Apostle Paul goes as far to say that we are nothing without it [love]. By you choosing to always walk in love you are reflecting the image of Christ to everyone around you. Now that's a powerful testimony!

There are two sides to this story. How I choose to walk with the Lord and how others choose to walk. Other believers may not have the same convictions you do; so does that mean it's your job to point that out to them and everyone else? I don't think so. People will be people and you can't control how they choose to live their lives. What you can control is how you live your own life and how things affect you. Don't let the short-comings of others bring you down. In other words don't let the enemy use them to steal your joy. Just do what God has put in your heart to do and stop worrying about everyone else's problems. God is big enough to work those out. Maybe you see these issues in people for a reason. Have you prayed for that person?

Our jobs are quite simple once you take away all the holier-than-thou church mumbo jumbo. Love God and love others, pretty much that's it (see Matthew 22:36-40)! Do you see how Jesus said to first love God then love others? There's a reason! Only when we first love God with all our heart, soul and mind are we able to love others. It's through God's love that we can see others as He sees them, through eyes of love and compassion. We are all broken vessels and have issues so why do we act like we don't? I'll be the first to raise my hand and say it, "Yup, I've got issues!" But I also know that God is bigger than my issues and will help me navigate through them as long as I keep my eyes on Him and not what everyone else is doing. It is only when we learn to love God first that we can truly begin to love others. 

Take Care & God Bless,

-E

Needs & Wants

"My God will use his glorious riches to give you everything you need. He will do this through Christ Jesus" - Philippians 4:19 (ERV)

Yesterday God spoke to me and it wasn't audible or even that still small inner voice that He generally uses. This time it was in the form of my loving and beautiful wife, didn't see that one coming, but God knows what we need when we need it. 

Here's what happened, it was just another typical Friday and it was payday, yeeess! Shortly after my work day started I get a text message from the wife basically telling me to watch my spending because things are a bit tight due to a smaller than usual pay period. Immediately discouragement came in and I felt a wave of just "blah" come over me. I replied to my wife's text with "discouraged" and and a sad face emoticon and the response from her to my text is where God used her to speak right to me. She basically said that all I needed to do was look around at all the blessings God has given us and as she said that instantly I knew it was God reminding me of all He has brought us through and how He's provided every single step of the way.

You see I tend to get my needs all mixed up with my wants and this has been a fairly regular thing that has popped up every now and then throughout my own life. Can you relate? If we really break down what is it really that we need to survive? If we think about it in that sense the list becomes very small. What tends to happen is society & the media tells us what we need and it goes a bit like this: get an education, make money, get married, buy a bigger house, have children, be happy, if it feels good do it, get divorced, get nicer cars, invest, buy, sell, workout, diet, support a cause, save the whales, blah blah blah...the list could literally go one forever, but if you truly answer the question what do I need to live. For me at least all the things I could think of I already have and more so then others I know. Very quickly I was humbled and convicted for my complaining attitude, I felt a bit like the Children of Israel complaining in the desert (see Exodus 16). After all that was said and done and I took a brief inventory of all that God truly has provided my attitude and day changed for the better.

The enemy will take EVERY opportunity to try to get our eyes off of the goodness and faithfulness of God. This was just an chance for him to do so with me and God knew that. So in all His goodness He intervened and spoke to me through my wife. It all boils down to trusting in God and if I still had any doubt that God was trying to get my attention about trusting in Him "Trusting in God" was also part of Pastor Tom's topic for that Friday night's men's meeting at church. So this was word/lesson was confirmed and reconfirmed several times throughout the day so needless to say I have taken the refresher course on trusting in God.

So if you're feeling a bit discouraged that's OK, we all do from time to time, just don't settle there. Remind yourself of what God has provided for you and stop focusing on what you don't have yet. Be thankful for what God has given you and entrusted into your hands and eventually He will increase what He gives you. It's a marathon people not a sprint.

Take Care & God Bless,

-E