"Which in His times He shall Shew"

Have you ever wanted to rush God's timing? Did you ever think God was taking His good old time and you wished He hurry up? Have you ever thought that you could help the LORD by doing your own thing. When we rush God's timing and when we take things in our own hands, we are ultimately saying to God, "I don't trust you, Lord." 1 Timothy 6:15 says, "Which in His times He shall shew, who is blessed and only Potentate, the KING of kings, and LORD of lords." In truth, We Can Trust The LORD with Our LIfE!!! O foolish Christians, are your times in your own hand? O foolish Christians, Alone? Do you think you can stand? Weary friend, You act as if you are your own Master, Not trusting God? You're setting yourself up for Disaster. Can you not trust the Great, Almighty Maker? Can you not see the Works of Our Wonderful Creator? The LORD hath made all things beautiful in His time. You think you can do much better than this God of mine? Trust in the LORD will all thine heart, the Bible does say. Are you still resting in you, or will you Go God's Way? O Dear Friend, God knows so much better than you. Let go, let go! Trust your life with the God who's TRUE!

"Speaking Things They Ought Not"

Ever find yourself saying something you shouldn't? Ever realize that the conversation your involved in has turned to gossip or backbitting? Have you ever walked away from a conversation and thought "Lord, Why did I say that?" In 1 Timothy 5, Paul addresses how the older and younger widows are to conduct themselves. Look at Paul's description of the older widows. "Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work." These older widows are praised for their good works. Paul proceeds to say that the younger widows need to remarry because they are prone to gossip and being busybodies. He wants them to remarry so that they "give none occasion to the adversary"... "For some are already turned aside after Satan." Look at the difference between the older widows and the younger. The older haven't let their circumstances get the better of them. The haven't become so ripened with age that they are rotten. No, instead they have used their time wisely to help others. Those older women knew that complaining about their circumstances wouldn't change anything. Instead, they were uncomplaining servants. The younger widows that "turned aside" allowed their circumstances to consume them. They were bitter and hateful. They weren't loving servants. They were cold, uncaring, cynical women. The Bible says in Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice." And Philippians 4:8, tells us what we should think about so that we will change what we talk about. "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." 1 Thessalonians 5:8 says, "But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation." Someone once said, We never PRAY for People we Gossip about and we never GOSSIP about people we Pray For. And let me add... We never really Pray for people that we don't love with God's Love. If your tongue is out of Control... there is a problem with your heart. Where is your first love? Have you left Christ to pursue other dreams? When you get overwhelmed by your circumstances look at the characters in the Bible who faced great challenges. Look at those who overcame like Daniel. Daniel never complained, nor did he get bitter or critical because of his circumstances. Instead, He just obeyed God and continued where God put him. He did this without compliant. The attitude opposite of complaining is praising. Will you ask the LORD to help you reflect on His Blessings this week?

"More Than a Head Knowledge"

For a long time in darkness I wandered, Truth had no meaning the longer I pondered. I did my duty and had my check list, But there was no light found in the midst. Then one day, I saw my eyes held no light, They were closed and black as the night. I finally yielded my ways to the LORD, Putting my complete trust in God's Word. More than a head knowledge now it is clear, No more doubts, nor darkness; no more fear. Now I can see; the light of truth did heal, And I know, I know, Yes, I know it's real! Dedicated to all those that recently have come out of the darkness and into the Light.

Dreams.... hopes... wishes and waiting?

Waiting... waiting is a huge part of the Christian Life. We have to wait on God for a lot of things... Such as, answers to prayer, God's timing, the right mate...etc. God wants us to wait, but while we are waiting, we should be loving others with God's love. In this time of waiting, we should not be pinning away or having self piety parties. This is a time when God wants to use us and direct us. While listening the radio today, I heard Phil Vischer tell his testimony on what happened after he lost "Big Idea"... He said his dream was gone. Everything that defined him as who he was had been taking away from him. He wrote about his experience after losing VeggiTales in his book "Me, Myself, and Bob"... One of things he says: "Sometimes God asks you to give up your dreams. He tests you to see if you love your dream more then God." Phil said that when "Big Idea" was gone, he realized that the only thing that matter was His relationship with God. His dream defined him, but God took his dream away to show him that his relationship with God was suppose to be the only thing that defined him. I read 2 Thessalonians 5:5 this morning and the words leaped off the page at me. "And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ." And the LORD Direct YOU(r). Where is the Lord directing me? Where is He leading me? Am I listening? Or am I trying to do things my own way? Look at the rest of that phrase. And The LORD direct your hearts. God's needs to have our hearts. He needs to be our first love. Sometime we get ideas in our heads that the LORD may give us but He might require us to give those ideas back to Him. Christ needs to be our everything. God wants to direct your hearts into the Love of God. He wants you to rest and wait patiently on Christ. Let God take over in your heart. Yield your dreams my friend!

Ye Careless Women - Isaiah 32:10

What does it mean to be careless? Webster's 1828 Dictionary states that carelessness is having no care; heedless; negligent; unthinking; inattentive; regardless; unmindful; followed by of or about; as a careless mother; a mother careless of or about her children, is an unnatural parent. When I think of carelessness I think of a house disorderly and un-kept with trash everywhere and a stink that penetrates the whole house. I recently was in Florida. One day, the Florida Newspaper showed pictures of a house so full of trash that it was amazing that anyone had actually lived there. Yet someone had lived there, a Floridian woman. I have never seen a house so atrocious in my life. Cigarettes were piled two or three feet high. There was not one part of the house that was not covered with pizza boxes, old food, dirty diapers and cigarettes. The Newspaper also took pictures of the bathroom and kitchen, these rooms looked the same as the rest of the house, except for a few more items.... Cleaning Products! Seems that this woman had good intentions of cleaning her house, but never got around to it. CARELESSNESS! That house was in disarray because of that woman's carelessness. This was a physical home, but here is my question to you: "How is your Spiritual House?" When is the last time you or I did some spring cleaning in our lives? Have we gotten careless? It is so easy just to let sin slide... a thought fester. You know, that lady didn't one day have huge mounds of trash appear in her house. No, it was just neglecting to clean up one thing and then neglecting to clean up another... until her house had three feet of trash all the way around it. We need to check and guard all our thoughts. One at a time. If we get careless over time they will pile up. That house so full of junk was beyond an easy clean. The only way to get the stink out of that house would be to gut it and start anew. Someone once said, "Keep Short Accounts With God." This means that you need to confess your sin as soon as you do them. But can I challenge you not to just keep confessing your sin on a daily basis, but to guard against carelessness? Keep so close to the LORD and capture every thought. Apply Philippians 4:8 to your life and you will begin to clean out the mess in your heart. "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Beware of Carelessness!

"He hath made every thing beautiful in His time"

Everything Beautiful in His time? Are you facing something that you wish was over or maybe your facing something you wish had never taken place? Everything? Can every thing be beautiful in God's Time? I know when I face a trial, I try to find a way out of the trial. I put my effort into fixing the problem and fail to depend on God to wait it through. Proverbs 19:21 says, "There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand." Did you know that the trial you are facing is there for a reason? God is working and has a purpose for bringing that trial into your life. "My Times are in Thy Hand." This little phrase became very precious to me in 2002. I was in Prague at the time. I had been there three months, and of course I wanted to stay longer. I did everything in my power to make that happen. But to no avail I had to return home. The day before I left, I came across this phrase in Psalms 31:15. "My Times Are In Thy Hand." I returned to the states the first week in April. Upon arriving at home I learned that my older sister was very ill. She passed away three weeks later. I know that God wanted me to leave Prague. I didn't know at the time why... but I left trusting Him, knowing that He had everything in His control. God knows what is best for you. Have you placed your life in His hands? In the darkest of times, He will be right there... showing you the beauty of His Holiness. "And surely He has lead me along, and been more than my heart could every bear." ~ Bro. Lester Roloff. Take Heart, My Friend, Everything is Truly Beautiful in His Time!

Blurry Vision

For those of you who where contacts, have you ever put your contacts in and they were blurry? No matter how many times you tried to clean them with solution, you still could not get them to be clear? In the Christian Life, we can often have blurry vision. In Ecclesiastes, we find Solomon having a very strong case of blurry vision. One doesn't have to read very far in the book of Ecclesiastes to see that Solomon was very overwhelmed with the gift of wisdom that God had given him. In Chapter 1 - Solomon had an un-thankful spirit. He saw the Wisdom that God had given him as a burden. The Wisdom that he had probably brought a huge burden, but instead of giving that burden over to the LORD, he tried to drowned it out. In Chapter 2 - Solomon is drowning out his burden with mirth. In verse 9 of chapter 2, He states, "also my wisdom remained with me." He could not get rid of it. In verse 17, he comes to a place where he says "Therefore I hated life." His vision was blurry because he was looking at life under the sun, instead of looking at life through the eyes of the Son. Solomon had all the wisdom one could ever need or desire, yet he forgot where the origin of that wisdom came from. He even forgot why he had asked for it. How terrible everything is when we have blurry vision. When we get our eyes off of Christ. Remember Peter? He was doing fine walking on the water that is until he took his eyes off of Christ. All of a sudden the waves looked too high. The sea was over whelming and Peter began to sink. When we look to our self and our own reasoning, we find that the waves look too high for God to overcome. The Darkness is darker then any natural storm. There are no silver lines and no day-breaks. The unclouded day will never been seen. And as Peter, we begin to sink into the sea... all because our eyes are off of Jesus. My Friend, Take Heart! Look Up! Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith! Don't settle with blurry vision! Go to the Great Physician and get your vision fixed!