Keep running

“He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭53:3-4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

One of my favorite movies is Forrest Gump. The part that got me in the movie and made my allergies act up was when they were in Korea and bubba got shot and Forrest kept running. Once he realized that Bubba was not with him he kept going back to look for him but with each trip he found someone different. He didnt leave them just to find bubba, instead he picked each one up, put them on his shoulder and took them to safety. Once he found bubba he made sure he took him back. While running with Bubbba Forrest himself was shot. But he got back up and ran with Bubba back even in his own pain and hurt.

HERE IT IS…

Even in Jesus pain of being beaten and pierced and spit on, mocked, whipped, and nearly destroyed he picked us up. Put us on his shoulder. He took all our mess and all of our struggles all our weakness and all of our sins and ran with it to Calvary. So what gives us the right or even the thought that we have the ability to stop running? What makes us think we can just sit down on God? If he kept going while hurt and seemingly defeated what are we doing giving up? Don’t give up. Don’t stop running. Don’t stop giving him praise. Instead just keep running.

Fortress

“The Lord rescues the godly; he is their fortress in times of trouble. The Lord helps them, rescuing them from the wicked. He saves them, and they find shelter in him.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37:39-40‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Fortress by definition is is a military stronghold. Especially a strongly fortified town fit for a large garrison. Is a great representation of just how great and protective God is. When we think about it how is it that one place can be that strong? It reminds me of visiting the White House and how there are men walking around with weapons that you can see and thinking about the ones that you cant see, but they can see you. A place that often compared to Fort Knox. Protected on all sides. A place where the way in is through someone from the inside giving you access.

HERE IT IS…

When you gain access to the fortress that’s big enough to cover the whole world while in the world but not of it, what is there to fear? You have been given the access to a place where no matter what comes against you you have guards and angels looking out for you that cannot even see. Keeping you from getting hurt. So preacher what about when things happen? How often do you leave the fortress? Even when you leave his presence he still sends guards with you everywhere you go. No matter what you are protected in him. Your covered in every place you go.

Follow the map

“But the Lord will not let the wicked succeed or let the godly be condemned when they are put on trial. Put your hope in the Lord. Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37:33-34‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I love taking road trips because of the serenity and the peace I get. Being able to just drive and watch how the landscapes change is an amazing thing for me. What I like most is the time before GPS when you had to use maps. Because there were always times whereupon may get lost. It reminds me of just how great God is for us. Because even though God gives us a map we will at times get off course. But when you pick up the map and retrace your steps and finally find the road you need to take you can get back on course from wherever you are. Even when you stop and ask for directions and get the wrong directions as people will do to you in life you still have the map.

HERE IT IS…

No matter what God will not let you fail. He will not let anything prevail against you.

“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:8-10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Trust in God and let his word lead you in the way you should go. Follow God.

The constant in your life

“Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37:25‬ ‭NLT‬‬

If you could go back and tell your 13 year old self something what would it be? If you could go back to when you were young what would you change? We have always pondered that question and have always wanted to see what the results would be if we would have changed even just one event in our life. Changing that would definitely alter the course of what you know now as life. The one constant that would not change is the grace and love and compassion that God showed you during that time.

HERE IT IS…

The psalmist here does a self reflect on what it was like when he was young and his present condition and situation. What he sees is that even when he was young and now that he is older he has never seen God fail or allow his children to suffer. Even in the times when you felt like you were. Even in the times it felt like you were alone. Even in the times when you thought you would fail. God was there and he kept you from all hurt harm and danger. When you look back over your life and think things over the one thing that is constant is Gods love.

He delights in you too

“The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37:23-24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I have always told my kids when it comes to school to give 100%. Always give it your all because I would rather take a hard C than an easy A. As long as you are trying and I see the work you put into it your doing what your supposed to do. When I see that I reward them because of the effort and the grade they got. I do expect good grades in my home. It goes without question because I believe and have faith that my kids can produce all good grades. I do also understand that some things will require a lot more effort than others and I show them that I I am proud of them by rewarding them.

HERE IT IS…

It goes without question that rewarding them with things or money is not the only way that they get rewarded because honestly sometimes all they want is for me to show them that i see the work and be proud of them. Isn’t it wonderful that we serve a God who wants us to delight and experience him and in return he will delight in us? How great is that God shows us that he sees us and he takes the time to delight in us. If we show him we are working towards becoming better Christians he will delight in us. Even when we trip up sometimes he will come and hold us up and protect us from falling all the way down. He will delight in you.

Sit

“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

As a child for those of us who got into trouble. When your parents would tell you to sit some where and be still? How they told you dont move? That’s hard to do as a child and as an adult. How many of us can actually say that we have sat in the presence of God until he moved? How many of us can say that we waited on God to move in our life before we did something? It’s hard to say that because we have so many different things going on in our life and we try to make it better. Try it?

HERE IT IS…

In today’s time we seem to always have to be moving and doing something. But as I have gotten just a little bit older I have realized that sometimes your blessing is in your sitting. I have realized that in you sitting God will show up bigger than he does when we are moving sometimes. How? Well when your moving your mind is too. So while your moving your mind is also and you cant fully see what God has done. It is in your sitting where God shows up and provides and heals and delivers. Because at that point you can fully experience his glory. You can fully delight in him.

Experience

“Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭37:3-4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Delight by definition means; an experience guaranteed to please. This meaning makes this scripture have a whole new meaning for me. When I read this before I thought it was meaning to just be happy. Or to have a good time. But the word that changed for me was “experience “. Experience as in to get into it. The presence of what it is. So now when I read this scripture it tells me to experience God in a whole new way. The awesome thing about it is that every time I come into the presence of God I receive a whole new experience every time. Not because I make it different but because he fulfills me with what I need.

HERE IT IS…

Take delight in the Lord today. In saying that read the 3rd verse where it says trust in the Lord. Trust that he will heal. Trust that he will provide. Trust that he will move. Trust that he will do just what he said. When you trust in him to do it then will your experience be like none other. Your experience will move and propel you to worship in a great way. Your experience will provide you with a new outlook on every situation in your life. When you get into his presence don’t take it lightly. Don’t take it for granted. Use it wisely and allow his great work in you to propel you to give him glory.

Put your hands up

“Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭23:46‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I was winded with my hands on my knees. Feeling like I was broke down and couldn’t go anymore. Sweat dripping from my beard. My shirt soaked from the sweat. I was tired and feeling like I was done. Feeling like I couldn’t breathe and the breath of my body was all gone. I remembered what my coach told from when I was a little kid playing football. He said put your hands on your helmet and take deep breathes. When you put your hands up you extend your lungs and allow more air in. I stand up place my hands on my head and breathe deeply and in and slowly out.

HERE IT IS…

Just when you think that you cant go on anymore. Just when you felt like your life is over. Just when you felt like the wind was just knocked out of your body and your having trouble to breathe. Do what Jesus does. The people didn’t know what they were doing when they crucified him with his hands up. They were allowing him to breath deeply. The allowed more of God in. With that he took his last breath on this earth and that’s when the spirit of God took over. He submitted to God and gave the power over to him. Sometimes you just have to put your hands up and submit all that’s going on in your life to God. Because once you catch your breath you’ll be able to rise again.

Just wait

““But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25:31-32‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When I was a kid and I got into trouble there were some famous words that I had the pleasure to hear but also feared to hear. The words that I heard were not something I ever wanted to hear. The bad part is that my mother was bad enough when I got into trouble and she would whoop us. But these famous words that I had the pleasure to and feared to hear were worse. “Wait until your daddy gets home”. Those words were terrifying to me. Even though my mom didn’t wait, just the fact that she would say it was enough.

HERE IT IS…

What are you going to do when the Lord cracks the sky? What are you going to do when he sends down his Son on a cloud to come and save all his people that has been selected? What will happen when he comes back? Will you be ready? When my mom would say that I automatically started to try and find ways to get out of it. The truth of the matter is that I couldn’t because of what he was already told by my mother. Jesus already knows everything about you and what you did and didn’t do. Just wait until Jesus comes back?

Don’t be misled

“Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you,

“Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it.

“So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,’ don’t believe it!”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭24:4, 23, 26‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I have met countless people who are superstars and who are people deemed a star in their respective fields. I have seen them taken pictures with them and have autographs from them. It’s hard to hear about someone like that being in the area or being seen and watching the crowds run and gather and not feel the need to go see if it is them. I have also had multiple times where people have rushed to see someone who was the same as the latter and it not be them but someone that looks like them. In that time I have felt fooled, misled and discouraged. But unless I saw them I wouldn’t know.

HERE IT IS…

The Bible speaks of others coming and saying they are the savior or the messiah. You will see rushing crowds and a gathering of people who will flock and really believe in who they say they are. I just believe that in those times it has to be more than a rushing crowd or an uprising of things happening. It will be not only a definitive action of things happening, but the scripture also says that, the sheep will know the Shepard’s voice. So don’t be misled or follow the crowd. Now is the time to get to know Jesus and recognize his voice that has been there the entire time of your life. Dont be fooled, but know who he is to you. Trust God.