Process

But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.

Psalms 73:2‭-‬3‭, ‬13‭, ‬17 NLT

In school they taught us what alot of kids are not learning today. They called it “the process of elimination”. This process meant that you went through the questions and asked questions and looked at the answers and seen which one was least likely to be the answers. Once you went through this process you would ultimately end up with either the 1 answer or the most likely answer to the problem. We dont use this illustration in life. The process of elimination can help us weed out the wrong way to go when we wonder what to do. Sometimes it may take a little time, bit in the end it will all work out.

HERE IT IS…

The psalmist is using this process as he talks to God. He ponders about his downfall and how he was ALMOST gone. The problem he is having is how the people who dont worship seem to get ahead while he was left behind. He said he used to envy them. He then asked in essence, what am I doing keeping myself from doing what they are doing and feel like I’m stuck. The process leads him to the answer in verse 17. He said, “Then I went into your sanctuary “. The answer you search for is in his presence. Eliminate all the other things. Eliminate the wrong thoughts. Eliminate the envy and jealousy. Eliminate the hurt and pain. Once you step into his presence then you will be able to see and understand why he has you where you are. To save you from what’s to come. Be steadfast, and unmovable and watch God do something amazing.

Eyes up

“You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. That’s right—you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; Then I’d never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel. I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways. I’m going to do what you tell me to do; don’t ever walk off and leave me.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭119:1-8‬ ‭MSG‬‬

I ride a motorcycle to work a lot which a lot of other people do. One thing that I have noticed while riding (just to work) is that driving and texting is really hard to do. While driving and texting if your car swerves you think it was only a little bit and now your back on course. But from my point of view in a motorcycle your minor swerve is a and can be a big one. The swerve is the correction to get your car back in line. The concerning part is the drift. What happens when you drift, you don’t actually know how far you have gone to the left or right until you look up. That is when you make a sudden and drastic change to correct it.

HERE IT IS…

When have we all been in a moment in our life where we were so concentrated on what we were doing that our heads were down for so long that by the time we looked up we had to make some immediate changes and corrections. The direction we were going started to drift and things didn’t become out of control until you looked up and tried to swerve and over correct. Truth of the matter is that if you had your eyes looking up at God the whole time there would be no reason for the swerve. Sometimes we get a shift and swerve confused. Your swerving when you should be shifting. Keep your eyes on God and stay in your lane.

Conqueror

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 NLT

What you worried about?
Why do you worry about what’s going to happen? I tell the kids all the time that stuff is going to happen whether you want it to or not. The ability to take it and keep moving is within your relationship with God.
When things come and trials show up do you fall? When it rears its ugly head do you crumble to pieces? It’s okay to get mad and upset, but now what? Now what do you have to do? Now where do you go from here?

HERE IT IS…

Jesus said that he was explaining what was going to happen to him not in figurative speech. He was talking plainly so that they would understand. Not only what was about to happen, but what they should do when things come up. He said to have peace. Then he says, things are going to happen. Finally don’t worry because I have already overcome it. What has happen and what’s about to happen will have some hurt feelings with it. It will come with some sorrow. It may even make you think you can’t do it. But, if I over came the world, and if my spirit is in you. Surely what you are going through we can conquer.

Go

That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT

3 of our greatest senses and abilities as humans we have is our sight, hearing and ability to think. The things that we can and have trained ourselves to see. The things that we can and have trained ourselves to hear. The things that we can and have trained ourselves to think. They can really be amazing and astonishing at times. Just the other day scrolling through my phone I saw a recording of 2 guys doing flips and other things 9n the edges of buildings. Jumping from building to building. It’s amazing what our mind can do. Being able to watch a little boy call put notes from a keyboard playing chords is amazing. Seeing a sharpshooter use a bow and arrow, a gun, to hit the smallest things is amazing to me. Even with those talents and being able to do all those things, does not constitute what God can do for us.

HERE IT IS…

He says eyes has not seen,
Ears have not heard,
Nor has it entered into the mind
Of what God has for us…
Take your wildest and most prosperous thought. If you had the ability to go anywhere with out the care of money, now multiply it by 100. Let me be clear God is not talking about money, it’s in there, but look he said; eyes has not seen
Ears have not heard
And it couldn’t be imagined or thought of what God has prepared.
He says I’m about to do, show you and let you hear things you have never heard before. Verse 10

But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.
1 Corinthians 2:10 NLT

You have to be in tune with his spirit first… He speaks to our physical senses, so that we can line up our spiritual senses… look beyond the physical…

At the right time

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6:9‬ ‭NLT‬‬
Ever since the boys have been born they have always tried to out do me. Either it was running, basketball, football, we have always competed against each other. When we would play basketball they would get mad because I wouldn’t let them win. Yes! I am one of those fathers and honestly I did the same thing. I had a father and an older brother to try and beat when I was little. I would get so frustrated that I would want to quit, and so would they. But I told them the same thing I was told. You may not win now but if you keep playing you can figure out a way to win. They haven’t yet lol.

HERE IT IS…

When this verse talks about getting tired it not only refers physically being tired but also being frustrated in what your doing. Things in this life will make you want to quit. Having to deal with the same thing over and over. Dealing with failure after failure. Denial after denial. But, at the right time! At the right time you will win. At the right time you will reap. At the right time you will be approved. At the right time God will elevate you. At the right time your season will start. It’s not going to be easy. It’s not going to happen right away but at the right time!

God gets the glory

““You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.””
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭4:11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Life is hard. I don’t think there is anyone that has ever felt different. No matter where you are now or where you going we all have come to a point and time that we have thought that life was/is/or going to be hard. But here is my question to you. What if life was Easy? I mean what if you had the ability to make life easy? Really if life became that hard what if you could make life enjoyable and fun and easy with no worries? What would you do first? Money, homes, cars, peace, control over it? We all have different things that we could do to make our lives easy. But who gets the glory?

HERE IT IS…

I have asked myself these questions many of times. The reality is this my friends. ITS IN FRONT OF YOU. How? Who created you? Not your parents, but God created you. So why do we constantly fight against the current of what he is trying to do because we want our story to look like someone else’s story. Just to be able to brag and say “I came from nothing and now look” I guess the real question is who gets the glory from having an easy life? You? Or God?

Position your self

He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

Acts of the Apostles 9:4 NLT

One of my favorite stories in the bible is the story of saul/Paul on the road to Damascus. After Saul went around persecuting Christians he had a encounter with God. When he had this encounter he had all his boys around him and they saw what happen. What I like about the story is this. That even thought Saul was out killing Christians he still heard God’s teachings. Something inside of him was conflicted this whole time he was killing Christians. It is my belief that even though he was killing Christians the teaching and preaching he was doing was not falling on deaf ears. Look what happens to Saul when you read it.

1. He fell in the proper position when he heard God’s voice.
2. He was blinded and led
3. He was left alone

HERE IT IS…

Even a sinner knows the voice of God. When he heard Jesus voice he fell on his face which is a position of surrender and defeat. Then God took away his sight so that he would not be confused on what he heard. Then all his friends left him when he changed. This has or will happen to us all. Just because they don’t get it now, and you feel your wasting your breath, they still hear you. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like they know what they are doing like they are blind is because they spiritually are, but they can still hear. Then just like Paul you have to allow God to get in their and do what he does best while you just pray.
Don’t stop teaching and preaching they hear you…

Search party

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭139:23-24‬ ‭KJV‬‬

I love watching military movies, especially the ones with a search and rescue plot behind it. That gets me hype every time to the point in my mind I am doing things that I learned. I’ll sometimes say out loud that is not how that would have went in real life. That’s because they have to make the movie exciting dramatic. But when I look at those movies I am reminded just how much work goes into being saved from the enemies camps. In order to have a team come together and infiltrate the lines of the enemy and retrieve a person and make it out safely.

HERE IT IS…

That’s exactly what God does within is. He throws an internal search party. Do you see it? “Search me oh God. Know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts. Look and see if there is anything that should not be and lead me in the way everlasting. That’s what is asked. For God to search for those things in you that shouldn’t be and to get rid of them. Then lead me away from them. Those things that you tried to get rid off but can’t. God can. Those people you are trying to get rid off. God can. Those places you don’t want to go no more. God can. He will throw an internal search party just for you. All you have to do is ask and be open to let him in.

Words

Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing.
Proverbs 12:18 NLT

I have had some people say some real cruel things to me. I used to be a person that words hurt me when I was a kid. I learned quickly that I had to have tough skin. However even the toughest person can be hurt. I mean even super man was hurt by words at times. Words hurt, and cut deep because of the context that comes with it. When some one close or even a person that doesn’t really know you says hurtful things, it really can get to you and alter your thinking just from what they said.

HERE IT IS…

Be mindful of what you say because you don’t know who you hurt in the process. Words hurt, and do stay with you more than a physical pain. I remember more of what my parents said when I was in trouble more than the physical pain. You and I have the power to destroy and to heal. You and I have the ability to kill and bring life. The words you use are more important than you being able to physically hurt some one. Be mindful of what you say and who you say it too.

Love of discipline

“No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In a way I tried to raise my children the way I was brought up. Taking the life lessons and the things I had to go through and not keep them away from it but talk to them openly about them. In some cases I had to discipline my children physically and other times it was a good discussion/monologue. Looking back at the things they went through and where they are today I can proudly say I have 5 working children who know how to save and invest and start and conduct business. The times I look back and remember some of the childish things they did as a child let’s me know that what they had to endure when it came to punishments, discipline and monologues shows me that they understood and used it.

HERE IT IS…

When you are being disciplined by God it’s not to keep you from doing what you want. Truth is we can get in trouble with God and still do something we were told not to or withheld from anyway. But when I look back at what I have been through and what I have done and the things I have experienced. I can truly say that I am blessed, I have a testimony. His discipline wasn’t to keep me down but rather to lift me up to tell me I am better than that. Tell me he has something greater. To tell me that he has my back. Even though I messed up he still loved and loves me. Since he did it for me I will do everything that I do to his glory. His discipline is because he loves me still!