Faith and Works

Thinking about Christians in other parts of the world this morning, they have to fight for God everyday. They fight to have church, they hide in caves in the middle of the night just to worship with one another.  Some may risk their lives by having a copy of the Bible, so they memorize it.  That kind of commitment, love, devotion and obedience is just astounding to me. 

We can go to a church anytime we want, but we usually choose not to.  We have more copies of the Bible than we know what to do with, but we usually have more important things to do than read it.  We pray for the sick and the poor, but rarely do anything to help. 

I am well aware that I am a sinner, sometimes it is just more exaggerated.


You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works.  Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.  James 2:18

Rewind

Looking back is sometimes hard and sometimes wonderful.  The past holds so many feelings, memories and lessons learned.  To see who I am now and know how far I have come, is by far my favorite reason to look back.  We are told to live in the present and hold hope for the future.  So I say look back, but just look, if you dwell in the past you will never enjoy today.  Be patient with yourself and others, try and see how far you both have come.

Patience with other is Love. Patience with self is Hope. Patience with God is Faith. - Adel Bestavros

There is a past which is gone forever, but there is a future which is still our own. - F.W. Robertson

Trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to His love, and the future to His Providence. - Augustine

Blown Fuse

Faith is the ability to let your light shine even after your fuse is blown.  Faith is seeing light with the eyes of your heart, when the eyes of your body see only darkness ahead. - Barbara Johnson

We all have days, weeks or even years when we feel like our fuse has gone out... 

Faith replaces the bulb and allows your spirit to continue shining.  Trust God with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding, the things of this world are fleeting, God is not.

Praying for those who's fuse has gone out.

Fighting the Fight

I find myself not believing enough lately, I say 'hope' instead of 'know'.  I hope God comes through on this, or I hope I can do it.  'NO NO NO', is the responce I'm hearing from God.  Believe that I can, want to and will do ANYTHING for you!!

I always over analyze, so I'm thinking, do I have a trust issue with God?  Whats wrong with me, he has come through on so many things why would I doubt Him ever?  My conclusion is that hope is earthly and knowing is spiritual.  We all let the world get in the way of our relationship with God, but we need to fight the fight every day.  Knowing you are loved by a God who wants to give you the desires of your heart is sometimes hard to hold on to.  I feel like the days just tick away, and I'm left waiting.

So I am praying for patience in all areas of my life, and trusting that God knows whats best for me and the right time to give it to me.

Things To Come

Been a while... sorry guys :)  We traveled to Texas for my father's wedding and I am still trying to shake off the summer dust.  Fall is here in Florida and it is just beautiful!!  I love this time of year, I have so much more energy when the cool air gets in my lungs.

I feel like I have been in a time of harvest, I have been gathering and preparing for the "winter".  Do not get me wrong, I don't think anything dark is on the horizon, but I just feel like I am in a time of preparation for things to come, good and bad.

I sometimes, well most of the time, get very consumed by things and then quickly let go of them.  There are so many things in my life I never followed through or completed.  There are a few things I always follow through on, and that's my husband, my kids, my friends and my God.  I am well aware of this downfall of mine, and try and remind myself that I am loyal to the things in my life that matter most.  I think most people imagine doing something great or being 'the best' at something, I know I do (this is kinda hard to let go of).  But as someone who rarely follows through this is a difficult goal to maintain :) 

So durring this time of preparation and harvest I am asking God to help me follow through, on all things.  To be better at the things I am already loyal to and to help me maintain focus on the other things that matter in my life.  I have also asked for extra help devotiong my time to what He has called me to do, to help me see where He wants me putting in the most energy.

Live like a Lion of God this week!!