Fight like Abijah

Ok, say you were a king in the old testament and you were forced to go to battle. You have 400,000 men, and your opponent has 800,000. That's double your men if your not a math wiz. To make matters worse your soldiers were "seasoned warriors" aka old dudes, and the 800,000 you were up against were "courageous men from Israel". Personally I would run for the hills. King Abijah did not. In fact he thought the 800,000 Israelite's were crazy for wanting to attack him! Crazy! Why? Because he knew that God was on his side. He told the Israelite army this in 2 Chronicles 13:12 "So you see, God is with us. He is our leader. His priests blow their trumpets and lead us into battle against you. O people of Israel, don't not fight against the LORD, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed!"

Abijah knew and understood that because God was with him he could not lose no matter what the circumstance. The same still applies today. If God is on your side, and I assure you he is, we should have the same boldness and confidence that no circumstance can defeat us. God does not lose! So be full of faith, and confidence that what ever your battling against right now, you will be victorious, because God is fighting with you.

Dont Stop Asking

Have you ever asked God for something for what seems like forever? Maybe your asking and praying for something this very second. I know I am. I also know its easy to discouraged and even stop asking and praying altogether. "If its meant to be its meant to be" you might say to yourself. Well I know somethings in life NEED to be, and that Jesus had something else to say. Jesus told this parable in Luke 11:6-9 "6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.[a]
9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you."

Keep on asking! Don't give up! God is faithful to hear our prayers, and we need to have faith that he will answer them! Jesus also said this in Mark 11:24 "I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours." Anything and everything! Nothing is out of reach, and nothing is impossible with God. Don't stop praying for it, believe it, and receive it!

Real Love

On my facebook profile there is a verse. Its 1 John 4:10 "This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins."
I keep this on my page so I can read it every time I go there. This way I remember that God does everything he does for me not because I love him or I worship him, but because He loves me. Meditate on that thought and see if it doesn't brake you down to your core. God does what he does because of one simple fact...HE LOVES US.

Why are you here?

Today I came across a verse I've read many times before, but this time it struck a different chord with me. Most of us probably know the story of Jesus and the disciples praying in the garden of Gethsemane the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested. Jesus was very distraught at what he knew was to come. He knew that Judas Iscariot was going to come there and betray him with a kiss. He told the disciples it would happen at the last supper. But this is what stuck out to me. Jesus knew exactly all that was to happen, but when Judas arrived at the garden Jesus said to him, Mathew 26:50 "Friend, why have you come?" Why would Jesus ask him that?

Have you ever been somewhere mabey a bit doggy and said to yourself "what am I doing here?" or done something you know you really shouldnt be doing and said "what am I doing?" What if thats really God inside you sayin "Hey...what cha doin?", because he wants us to think about the REAL reason this question has come up. Am I doing this beacuse Im angry at something or someone? Am I here to avoid somewhere else? Am I not going somewhere to avoid something I need to confront? I dunno this is just some food for thought. So the next time you find yourself asking, "why am I here?" Stop and think if your the one asking it.

Lions may go hunrgy

Today began just like normal. I got up, took the dog out, made coffee, and put Corinne's lunch together. That's right I make my wife's lunch because I'm awesome like that. Then while making some toast with this outrageously good blackberry jam, God showed up. All of the sudden it was like a wave of joy came over me. In an instant God reminded me of how awesome and good he is to me. Its been easy lately to focus on not having a job and what are we gonna do about money and bla bla bla. I felt like God asked me "Hey..what have you wanted to do lately that you haven't done?" Uh....well....nothing! I love when God does that. Psalms 34:10 says "Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will never lack any good thing." I shouldn't be so quick to look at the negative side of things, because if I really look at it, the past 7 months (yes 7 months!) of not having a job have been awesome! We have never lacked anything in this time. God brought us here to Florida, and has given us everything we need. I know God has a plan for us here so I'm just gonna keep my trust in Him.

Look at the Lilies

I know allot of people that are struggling financially. I know allot of people unemployed...me included. I know people who work, but barely make it by. Chances are, in our country's present economy you probably are one of these people to. I know how easy it is to look at your present situation and just get totally depressed, worried, stressed, confused, or just flat out mad. I know because I have been all of thee above. It's in those moments of despair when we need to remember what Jesus said in Luke 12:27-28 "Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't he more surely care for? You have so little faith!"


Its easy in times of struggle to think God doesn't care, or just forget Him altogether because were so busy trying to fix things ourselves. But Jesus makes it very clear here that God does care! If God cares enough for a simple flower to give it all it needs to grow, how much more does he care for you! Be encouraged that God is on your side! Don't lose faith that He will provide!

Words & Thoughts

For the past two or so years I have tried my best to live by this scripture. Although I fail to follow it sometimes, or allot of times to be honest, I believe it to be one of the most important keys, for me, to be a positive light in this world. Psalm 19:14 "May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer."

I have found that when my thoughts and words are pleasing to God, that its not God who benefits. Its me. Im filled with more peace and joy, and less stress and fear. Im able to grab hold of more of God's blessings for me, and avoid more of this worlds curses. Before we speak a word out of our mouth our brain must first process it as thought. So when I decide that Im not gonna speak negatively about something, my mind has think accordingly. When I change my words, I change my thoughts, and when I change my thoughts I change my heart. Jesus said "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." So it stands to reason that if I just try to watch what I say, and be mindful of what Im thinking about, then I can literally change who I am where it matters most, the heart. And thats how I will be a positive light in this world, having a heart to please God.