Have a heart for...

Today, my heart cries out for those who do not know the Lord.  Everyday, I see folks who don’t know Him…some assume that they are so smart that they have life figured out, but don’t realize that He is the center, some choose not to know the Creator at all, some…many…have been introduced, but have refused a relationship with Him, etc. 

Whether these folks ever get in a relationship with God or not, the fact remains that they have made the choice to reject the Creator of the Universe…God Almighty.

At times, while crossing paths with non-believers, it could be so easy to just walk away and not have anything to do with them, mainly because so many are mean and arrogant, etc.  But what I choose to remember is that they have no reason to be joyous.  They have no reason to be nice.  They have no reason to be meek or humble.  You see Jesus is the reason that we choose to have those characteristics as a follower of Christ. (And let’s hope that as a follower of Christ, we are choosing to be like Him!  We are His ambassadors here on this earth!)  If they don’t have Jesus, there is a huge hole in their life and Jesus is needed to fill it to make them whole.  Instead they fill it with whatever suits them at the moment…until they figure out that it’s not working and then they move on to something else.  That cycle will continue until, hopefully, they choose a relationship with Jesus…the same way that you and I discovered that we need Him!  Have a heart for the lost!

When dealing with folks like this, choose to take the high road.  Be kind, be considerate, be loving...be Jesus to them.  You never know, you may be the only person who will ever be Jesus to them.  Remember Heaven and Hell are real and we are all going to end up in one place or the other by our own choice.  Look at things eternally instead of momentarily.  Winning souls to our Lord, saving souls from eternal damnation is the goal.  Choose eyes, ears and a heart of compassion because that’s how Jesus chooses to care for us.  Keep praying and never give up hope of salvation for the lost.     

When you find yourself in a sticky situation...

Quite some time ago, I had a conversation with someone who was having a difficult time with family members.  It was an emotional time for my friend.  In this emotional state they began to speak about the situation coming up with the family members in a negative way…claiming that the situation was going to blow up into an argument.  It was obvious that there were already hard feelings there.  I told this person that the situation didn’t need to blow up and it would and could blow up only if they wanted and allowed it to.

You see, we cannot control what other people do, but we can control what we do and how we react to what others do.  If we know that a situation is volatile(or and situation for that fact!), that’s when we should take it to the Lord in prayer.

PRAYER CHANGES THINGS!!

We have different choices that we can make in situations like this.  We can take it into our own hands doing any number of things…and more than likely make a mess of the entire situation, or we can give it to the Lord.  Giving it to the Lord is the best and wisest decision we can make.  And, when we take it to the Lord, of course this fleshly body that we’re in usually wants what it wants when it wants it.  We need to remember that we should always ask for God’s will and not our own.  We may think that we know exactly what needs to be done in a given situation.  But in reality, God is the only One who can see the big picture.

When you find yourself in a sticky situation, remember to take it to the Lord and trust that He will work all things out for the good.  In my friends’ situation, I believe that’s exactly what they did.  I found out later that everything went swimmingly.

Trust God…He has our best interests at heart.    

Making bad choices can...

Making bad choices can cause a ripple effect that not only affects you, but others for today, tomorrow and many more tomorrows to come.

Wisdom is choosing to do now what we will be satisfied with later. ~ Joyce Meyer

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach.  James 1:5

We have everything we need to make good choices.  God’s Word is infallible.  He has said that if we need wisdom, we only need ask for it.  His words, not mine!  However, we have the freedom to make whatever choices that we want…good or bad.  Just as good choices can cause good ripple effects for us well into our future and the future of those close to us, so bad choices can cause troubling ripple effects for us and those around us for a time and times to come.

All too often, we tend to let our flesh get in the way and make a bad choice simply because we want what we want when we want it instead of being patient and waiting for God’s timing in it.  Unfortunately, the popular saying, “if it feels good, do it” is not a good or healthy way to live our lives.  What if what we choose never was God’s will in the first place?  God is not obligated to honor us in choices that never were His will for us.  Until we understand that and move forward purposefully putting God first, asking for His wisdom in all things, the ripple effect can and will continue to plague us.

Let’s use wisdom in making good choices for our lives.  It’s as easy as simply asking God for wisdom, trusting and believing that He will supply the wisdom for what we need when we need it.  God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent.  Has He said, and will He not do?  Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Numbers 23:19