Be Certain In Times of Uncertainty

I saw a sign in front of a church the other day that read, "When you feel like you are drowning, talk to the man that walked on water." This sign really intrigued me, and made me think about today's economy. Many people and/or familes are feeling the financial squeeze. Many families are sinking and are extremely fearful of the future. Times are really tough out there right now....no...let me say it this way...TIMES ARE REALLY TOUGH RIGHT NOW!!! But how should we all react to these unprecedented times? The answer to this question is really clear to me.

God allows tough times to happen to us because of several reasons, but the two that come to mind are 1) tough times draw us closer to God and force us to depend on Him, and 2) when we learn to depend on God, we become stronger, thus allowing us to help other people through similar circumstances. Why should these times be any different than those difficult times described in biblical times? The answer: They're not! I believe that God wants our attention on Him. He wants us to focus directly on Him. He wants us to rely on Him for our everyday decisions, our everyday problems, our everyday lives. I believe that we, as a nation, have become complacent towards God, thinking that we don't need God anymore. We don't need Him in our schools, workplaces, financially, economically, and in some cases even spiritually anymore. This, in my opinion, couldn't be any further from the truth.

In times of uncertainty, focus on God! Focus on what God's plan is for your life. My children ask me sometimes, "How can we know what God's plan is for us." My answer to them is simply "when you want to know someone really well, you spend alot of time with them. The more time that you spend with God, the more it will be clear to you what His plan is for you."

For some people, this is a really difficult concept to grasp. I believe that it is difficult to understand only if you are unwilling to put God in control of your life, and spend each day talking to him about it.

So, if the economy has you fearful, or you can't find a job, or you don't know where the next mortgage payment is going to come from? This is my challenge to everyone that reads this article:

I want everyone to stop where they are, and say to God:

"God, I am sitting on the fense right now about you. Times are really tough right now and I am struggling terribly and I am affraid. Please reveal yourself to me in a way that will be completely obvious to me. I want to know that you are there, and in control. I want to know that you really love me."

I am certain that God will answer this prayer for everyone that asks it sincerely from their heart. When you feel like you are drowning, talk to the man that walked on water!

God's Love

This weekend was really cool. I was teaching with about 7 kids in Sunday School, and felt that I was not reaching them at all. The room that we were sitting in was really small, and very noisy; so the distraction level was really high. So I decided to have a group prayer where each member of my group could talk to God and express thanks for His Love for them. At first I got 7 kids saying before the prayer began that they would pass. But I said that I would lead the prayer off, and whoever felt that they wanted to say something could speak, and I would close out the prayer at the end.

I started the prayer off thanking God for 7 great kids, leaders among the rest of the class, and expressed that I love them all, and thanked God for loving all of us enough to send his son to die for us all. I thanked Him for the opportunity and the priviledge to sit with these wonderful young men and praise Him! Then I sat silent.

One by one, 7 kids prayed out loud and gave thanks to God for loving them. I now had their attention, and had an awesome lesson about God's Love! Isn't our God Awesome!! God sat down next to us and touched 7 kids' heart with His Love, and brought them to Him so that we could now focus on Him.

Praise God!

Valentine Request

I was going through the kid's Valentine candy, you know, making sure it is all good :o) , and came across a Valentine Request that my daughter had made. It read as follows:

Jesus, please be my Valentine
You make my life complete.
I can take all my cares to you
and lay them at your feet.

You gave to me the blessings
that I cannot live without.
This is the kind of love
Valentine's day is about.

It makes me smile when I see a young child so in love with Jesus. That warmth that comes across my body everytime I see a child come to Jesus is the Holy Spirit of God fueling my strength and passion to continue to do His work. How incredibly special it is, doing God's will. When one child accepts Jesus into his/her little heart, that is more important, and more joyeous than anything I can think of. I thank God for the opportunity to serve Him, and I thank God for the little ones, how precious they really are!

A New Young Christian Is Born

Last Sunday I had the awesome opportunity to lead a 10 year old young man to Jesus! The excitement that was running through my body was extremely intense. This was certainly not the first person I have lead to Christ, but this young man was one I will remember always.

The lesson last weekend was about Abraham and his willingness to follow God's will even when it entailed sacrificing his own son, Isaac. I read the scripture to the group of boys that I was teaching. Then we all started to discuss what we had just read. My son was also part of the discussion group. We talked about how God stopped Abraham from killing his son, and how that sacrifice is no longer necessary because God has sacrificed his son, Jesus, for us all. (John 3:16)

We then stopped for a moment, and I again told the class that my son was among them, sitting next to them. They all like my son, and really look up to him. I asked them that if I had sacrificed my son for them so that they could live forever, would they feel like they owe me something in return. They all said, "Yes". Then I asked, "What if God had sacrificed his only son, Jesus, and his only request of us is to believe that this sacrifice was for our sins, and that we embrace Jesus with all our heart? Would you believe?" They all said "yes". I told them that this is what really happened, that God sent his son to earth for us as a sacrifice for all our sins, and his only request of us is to believe and accept.

I saw some little eyes widen. We had a prayer, and after the prayer we had an alter call for those that wanted to accept Jesus. I kept my eye on one little boy as he slowly meandered towards the front of the room. I motioned to the lead teacher that he was on his way up to the front of the room.

You could tell that God was heavy on this boys mind. You could tell that the sacrifice of Jesus for him was being thought about intensely. Then, when he had thought about it long enough, he went straight for the front of the room to get his acceptance card and to tell someone of his decision.

I ran from the back of the room to be by his side and congratulate him. I was so excited for him, and I could see the excitement in this young boy's heart.

What a day this was!! May all the glory of this day be to God!

Amen!

When You Look Into My Eyes

When you look into my eyes,

Is it Jesus that you see?

In a world full of corruption, hatred and deceit,

When you look into my eyes, do you see the nails in His hands and feet?

Lord, I am a sinner,

Yet you sent your Son to die for me.
All you ask in return,
Is when people look into my eyes,

It's Jesus that they see.

by: Scott Brown

Be Moses

God works in very mysterious ways. Or should I state it another way: God works in His very perfect way! The prominant people in the bible that God used to accomplish great things for Him, were really no greater than you or I. Take for example Moses. Moses parted the Red Sea and brought the Isrealites to the promised land...WOW! But let's look a little closer.

When God asked Moses to lead his people, Moses replied...(paraphrasing) "Why me? God, please choose someone else. You know I have a speach impediment. What will I say if they ask me who sent me?" Moses asked God 5 times to find someone else.

Moses also was a murderer! He had seen an Eguiptian man mistreat a Hebrew man, and he confronted the Eguiptian and killed him!

But God sometimes uses the most inconspicuous people to accomplish His work. And let's face it, we are all sinners, and fall short of the glory of God.

So, my thoughts are this: If God chose a murderer, one who did not even want to follow His requests, to accomplish one of the most notorious, miraculous deeds of all time, don't you think that He could choose one of us to accomplish tasks of equal magnitude? And even more so, don't you think that if we were more than willing, and seeking His divine guidance on a daily basis, that He might want to use us more readily? I think that the answer to these questions is a resounding YES!!

God's goal is to have a relationship with us. This isn't anything new to us. We have been trying to have relationships with individuals for as long as we have been alive. So establish that relationship; open your hearts to God, prepare a place in your heart for him. And be ready for when He calls you to be the next Moses!