Archive for July, 2008

Well I am still in the process of upgrading so bear with me please.

As I was, doing my devotion this morning one of our pastors sent out an email in regards to a meeting/decision that pertains to our church and our future buildings and growth. As I read his email there was a statement by the gentleman that wrote the devotion about what makes God smile. Instantly I was back in 9^th grade Sunday school. A wonderful woman by the name of Barbara Hall was my teacher and she made a statement very similar that has stuck with me all this time, “At the end of the day, did your actions make Jesus smile or cry?” A very profound statement so simple yet if you were able to put it into practice in your everyday life what a dramatic difference there would be.

This however brings me to my real point. I remember around this same time in high school I was going through a psychology class where we did an exercise that involved us being blindfolded and letting a classmate take us around campus. Now the point was to teach us trust and to learn more about ourselves. I was teamed up with a friend and as guys do, sometimes we were being crazy and letting each other bump into things. Well, during my turn I ended up walking towards a set of steps to which my friend screamed “STEPS” which immediately made me freeze. The thought of steps was scary because I did not know whether I was 1 step or 10 steps away from them. Now let me give you a blurb from the email that I received this morning:

Trusting God completely means having faith that God knows what is best for your life. You expect him to keep his promises, help you with problems, and do the impossible when necessary.

Again what a simple and profound statement, yet how hard this principle is to put into practice sometimes. It is so very easy for us as humans to want to take over and try to take control only to screw it up and beg God to save us. We become impatient or we think that we know what is best so we step in and possibly miss a blessing by taking action ourselves instead of waiting and trusting. I know that I struggle with this sometimes because I will want to take matters into my own hands. What arrogance! Just as the exercise I talked about above we as humans do not know what tomorrow brings however, we do know who does. We do not know what will happen throughout the day yet sometimes we are willing to proceed down the set of steps while blindfolded. I pray that we all will take the time to seek God face. In addition, I pray that we will do the things that make Him smile. One of those is being able to trust Him to lead us through the path that is best for us. This does not mean the easiest path but the best path. Remember “Trust is not inherited; it is learned!” So take that step of faith and follow God, He will not let you down!

We at 2MHDS are finally taking a long needed vacation and have ventured right back to the beach. We have already enjoyed a fun filled day at the pool enjoying the sun and the kids. However one thing that I watched that was really awesome was my little niece (we affectionately call “Nee-Nee”) strive to conquer her fear of water and swimming without floaties. She by the end of the first day was able to jump into the deep end of the pool and swim her way back to the side of the pool where she could grab hold of the side. She had an amazing amount of determination and strength, but she at the same time relied on the fact that her dad was a foot away from her. This gave her strength because she knew that if she got into trouble he would be able to grab her and save her. Well as I was doing my devotional this morning I was shown this very principle by God.

Joshua 1:7-8 (New American Standard Bible)

 7″ Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.

 8″ This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.

Could God have made this any simpler for us? He is directly telling us that if we stay in His word and we obey His commands we will be successful. But more importantly we should feel empowered. It reminds me of the cartoon that I used to watch when I was little called “Super Friends” and there was a set of twins (I can’t remember their names for the life of me) that when they touched hands they could call out whatever they wanted to be and it would happen. Well I am not saying that God is like that but what I am saying is that we need to remember that we have God behind us in everything that we do. We can do anything that we strive after (in His will) with His strength with us. But more importantly we can always rely on the fact that when there is trouble in our lives or in our walk with Him, He will be there to lift us back up and put us on the side of the pool so that we don’t drown.