Everything's Better with Salt – Leviticus 2:13

13 Season every presentation of your Grain-Offering with salt. Don't leave the salt of the covenant with your God out of your Grain-Offerings. Present all your offerings with salt.

– Leviticus 2:13

Everything's Better with Salt

Are you worth your salt?  Do you add that little extra punch of UMPH to your day – every day?  Or do you walk around like Eeyore, gloomy, ears drooping, muttering incoherently while shuffling along life's long, lonely, dusty road?

We, as God's chosen . . . His Children . . . are supposed to be the salt of the earth.  We're supposed to add a punch of flavor everywhere we go and in everything we put our hands to.  We need to let the whole world see that we serve the Big God who is Vibrant, and Exciting, and Refreshing, and who can do ANYTHING He wants through his kids (us).  With that awesome responsibility comes a mandate – direct from Papa Himself:  Present ALL your offerings to Me . . . with salt.

WOW!  That means that we are supposed to offer our tithes, our gifts, our service to Him, with UMPH!  Excitement!  Joyfulness!  Gladness!  We should have a pep in our step as we carry that tithe to the church – knowing and expecting that God is going to take our offering and He is going to do amazing things with it.  We should be serving with jubilant hearts at the prospect of what God is going to do through us.  We should be praising louder and with more excitement than we do at sporting events because our God IS the Best!  He is The Champion!  He IS The BIG God!

So let's get excited!  Let's be Salty!  Sunday's coming and we're going to meet with our Lord!  We're going to offer up ALL our offerings to Him with all the flavor we can muster as His kids; His chosen; His team; His creation who knows how to live in abundant blessings and grace!  Let's BE that salt of the earth so that the world can TASTE and SEE that the Lord is Oh-SO GOOD!

Prayer

Father, Thank You for reminding us that our lives need to have flavor. Forgive us for the times when we present lack-luster offerings.  Help us to remember to always present ALL our offerings to You with Joy, and Excitement, and Energy – with all the salt we can muster!

Have a blessed and salty day everyone!

– Richard

Get Busy! – Exodus 39:42

42 The Israelites completed all the work, just as God had commanded.

– Exodus 39:42

Get Busy!

God sure is a smart Guy!

What do you do with a hoard of ex-slaves, used to working hard all day who now find themselves freed from their chains and all day to fill?  Well I can tell you, coming from a family of 4 boys, if you give energetic minds more than 3 minutes of idle time, mischief will find a way to find you.  And that's exactly what happened with the Israelites.  Moses was gone for 40 days and they forgot all about him, God, and all He had done for them.

So . . . God, in His infinite wisdom . . . gave them work to do.  All of them.  Men, women, and children, He had tasks for all of them.  But none of it was busy work.  This was meaningful, spiritual, deep-meaning God work.  They were assigned with building God's house and everything associated with it.  They were given VERY specific plans and instructions on how to build it and what materials to use.  The tiniest details were spelled out – every goat hair, dolphin skin, precious jewel, piece of acacia wood, and panel of fine linen was detailed – nothing was left to question or interpretation.  God gave them a purpose – a higher calling – and He did it in such a way as to enrich the lives of the people He was trying to have relationship with.

He is still trying to have relationship with us today, and He gives each one of us assignments and tasks to complete that are perfectly suited, just for each one of us.  Whether it's serving, or preaching (which is still serving), or worshiping (yup, still serving), cleaning, ushering, greeting, teaching, evangelizing, or any other "ing" you can think of (serving, serving, serving, and serving), God has assigned and gifted each one of us with some kind of serving assignment.  It's up to us to figure out what it is and get busy.  

Even if you don't know what it is, just do something!  You will quickly find out if that's your assignment or not.  The key is that we all MUST serve and go about the Lord's work as He sees fit.  

Whoa! Wait a minute!  WHAT?!

That's right - you heard (or read me), me . . . it's not how WE want or what WE like . . . it's about how HE assigns and gifts and anoints and appoints.  The key is serving where God wants us to serve and in the way that He wants, and where He wants, and when He wants.  It's not about us at all.  It's all about Him – just like the work He gave the Israelites to do.  Every stitch, every precious stone, every strand of goat hair, every splinter of acacia wood . . . was ALL for HIS purpose and HIS glory.  And the result?  A people with purpose, serving together, working together, in harmony . . . to honor Him.

Prayer

Father, thank You for giving us purpose.  Help us to find that purpose and the ability to serve with joy, wherever You want.  Forgive us for the times when we do what we want because it pleases us.  Our heart is to serve You and to please You and to honor and glorify . . . You!

Have a blessed day everyone!

– Richard

Get the Ites Outta Here! – Exodus 34:11

11 Take careful note of all I command you today. I'm clearing your way by driving out Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

– Exodus 34:11

Get the Ites Outta Here!

What are your "Ites?"  You know, the things that keep bringing you down and preventing you from realizing the deep things of God – those pesky, habits, hangups, addictions, drawbacks, and "wagons" that you keep falling off of, that you just can't seem to really break free from.  We all have them.  We all want to be rid of them.  We all want to see the guilt that comes "free inside" go away once and for all . . . don't we?

Well God says He'll do it for us!   He'll clear our way, our path, our one-way ticket straight into His arms . . . IF . . . BUT . . . WHEN . . . we take careful note of all He commands us (which in the big picture of things, isn't very much at all).  All He requires – all He really wants, is for us to understand, to believe without a doubt, to know in our knower, who He is and what He's all about.  If we can get that, if we can truly grasp that the God of ALL things, the Great I AM, is our God . . . then our lives will be transformed simply by the power of the knowledge we possess.  When we can wrap our minds around the fact that God is really in control, the freedom and the release from fear, and doubt, and uncertainty, and all the "Ites" that possess our land, will leave others wondering, and wanting what the secret is that we possess, and they'll want, no, they'll NEED to know how we can be so cool when everything around us is falling to pieces.

All that God commands is this . . . Love the Lord!  Love your God!  Love Him with ALL your heart, and all your mind, and all that is within you.  Love Him and Believe in Him and get to know who He Really is.  And as you go about the process of getting to know and love God, share that love with everyone else.  Be kind, and gentle, and generous, and compassionate – not just to people we like, but to everybody.  The Bible says that God loved the world SO much, that He gave His Son to die on a cross . . . for everybody – even for those who we don't think deserve it.  The least we can do is try.  Because the Ites that we carry with us and do our best to hide from everyone else . . . well, we can't hide them from God.  He sees who we really are.  Pretty scary though eh?

So take note of all God wants from you today.    Love your neighbor.  He loves them, so why can't we?  Get to know God by spending quality time with Him – dig into His Word and see how clearly He speaks life into your soul.  Press into Him, and watch as He gets rid of all your ites.  Not only will you be blessed, but you'll become a blessing as well.

Prayer

Father, thank You for loving us so much.  Thank You for being willing to drive out the ites that have such a strong hold on us.  Forgive us for allowing them into our lives time and time again.  Help us Lord, to know You better, and to learn how to love like You love.  

Have a blessed day everyone!

– Richard

Rise and Shine! – Exodus 34:2

2 So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain.

– Exodus 34:2

Rise and Shine!

For some reason God likes to do things in the morning.  It's well-documented in the Bible that God is a rise-and-shine, early bird gets the worm, crack-of-dawn kind of Guy (all full and due respect intended), and He seems to set aside blocks of morning time just for us.  That's not to say He isn't available to us all the time, but the Great I AM and a.m. are, of course, perfect timing.

Maybe it's because there is just something about the freshness of each new day.  Maybe the still of the morning, as the sun gently rises in the eastern sky, and the distractions and busyness of the day hasn't yet had a chance to consume our thoughts, is just the right time for us to absorb what God wants to tell us as we present ourselves to Him . . . on His terms.

Now me? I'm not a morning person.  It takes me a while before my body and my mind begin to function properly.  I don't want to talk to anyone, look at anyone, hear from anyone, or think about anyone or any thing.  Even though I'm awake at 5a.m. every day (weekends and holidays included), I'm not really functioning as "me" until around 8.  But, if I want to hear from God in a way that is clear, it's when I present myself, in all my grogginess, to my heavenly Father.  It's in the simpleness and freshness of my as-yet uncluttered spirit that God reveals His deep things to my soul.  He refreshes me and He encourages me, and He assures me, and gives me confidence.  By the time my time on His mountain is completed, I have a renewed focus on why it is I was put on His earth . . . to serve HIm and to proclaim His goodness, and His grace, and His love to the rest of the world.

In the morning. In the cool of the day.  In His presence . . . it's how God likes to meet us.  It's His way of revealing HImself to us, and every morning, of every day, for the rest of our lives (and who knows, it might be this way in heaven too), He will meet with us . . . in the morning.

Prayer

Father, thank you for the morning.  Thank You for setting aside this special time of the day to walk with us and to reveal Yourself to us.  Help us to always remember Your time and to not let the day get ahead of us before we have had our time with You.  Forgive us for the times when we leave you behind and we focus on the tasks and the stresses of the day ahead, without visiting with You first.

Have a Blessed day everyone!

– Richard

Restoration Hardware – Exodus 34:1

1 God spoke to Moses: "Cut out two tablets of stone just like the originals and engrave on them the words that were on the original tablets you smashed.

– Exodus 34:1

Restoration Hardware

Has God ever given you a promise and before it could be realized, you smashed it to bits by doing something rash and impulsive?  I know I have.  Talk about an OOPS! moment!

We all do things that we wish we could undo.  The problem is that once that word has been spoken, or that deed has been done, it's out there and it can never be retrieved.  It can be forgiven, but usually the person doing the forgiving will never fully forget the way our actions made them feel.  There will always be a little bit of separation, a barrier if you will, that our actions placed in the relationship.

When we, through our own rash, in-the-heat-of-the-moment, impulsive, un-thinking actions, ruin what God has set in motion to bless us and to move us into His plan for us, He immediately sets things in motion for us to get back on track – to get back on the path that we veered off of.  There is a catch though.  He will require us to make reparations and restore the relationship or the situation we ruined.  In the case of Moses, God required him to re-build the stone tablets that he smashed out of anger – albeit his anger was because of the sins being committed by the Israelites, it was still wrong for him to act out of anger.  Can you imagine the weight of having to reproduce something that God made – all in one day?  Moses must have been stressed out!  The reward however, was for Moses to be able to spend 40 days and nights with God Himself.  It absolutely changed his life!

God can and will restore us too.  He can take the wrong that we committed and if we are willing to humble ourselves and work at making restorations, He will take us to places and He will grow us beyond what we could imagine.  Our lives will be changed and in turn, we will change the lives of the world around us.  We will get to know God better and He will draw us into Himself so that we can live Him to His fullest for our lives.  The restoration will probably require something that we've never done before; something that is beyond our understanding; something that will stretch us to the breaking point.  But the payoff is huge.  The payoff is God speaking to us, and calling us by name, and using us to show His love and grace and forgiveness, to a lost and hurting world.

Prayer

Father, Thank You for restoration.  Thank You for allowing us to make mistakes and then using them to grow and mature us into being more like Your Son Jesus.  Forgive our sins and our anger and our rash and impulsive ways.  Help us to not let people or situations pull us off the path You have called us to.  Thank You Lord, for loving us so much!

Have a blessed day everyone!

– Richard

Hey You! – Exodus 33:17

17 God said to Moses: "All right. Just as you say; this also I will do, for I know you well and you are special to me. I know you by name."

– Exodus 33:17

Hey You!

God knows your name!  He knows my name.  He knows everything about us.  He has our back.

Think about it . . . He knows every freckle, every wrinkle, every mole, and every weird "what-the-heck-is-that?"  He's tuned in to every thought, wish, dream, desire, like and dislike.  He knows the best we can be and He knows the worst we can be, He knows what makes us laugh, and what makes us cry.  He has information on us that even we don't have!

So why is it . . . that sometimes we think we can put one over on Him?  You know what I'm talking about . . . the "church" side of us that we don't let out on Sundays . . . bitterness, anger, jealousy, pettiness, etc., etc.

Our brothers and sisters at church may not see it, but God does.  He's not fooled one bit by the masquerade that goes on on Sunday mornings around the world.  Oh, please know that I understand fully that we sincerely try to approach God on Sundays with the utmost reverence and respect – I'm not discounting that at all!  No, I'm talking about the "us" that lives Monday through Saturday (or any time were alone with our own personal demons running amok inside our heads).  God doesn't just see or know us on Sundays.  He is aware 24 / 7 / 365. He knows the me and you that even we don't know, every, single, day, of, our, lives.  

So let's stop pretending that we're all OK.  Let's take off the masks that we're so good at wearing.  Let's show God that we know and understand Who He IS!  Let's really give Him the respect He deserves by being and acting like His chosen church.  Let's put aside anything and everything that might hold back His hand of Grace.  Let's show HIm that we are aware of the attention He gives us.  Let's put a smile on God's face today

Prayer

Father, Thank You for knowing my name.  Thank You for being my Father.  Forgive me for the masks that I put on and for trying to hide who I really am sometimes.  Help me to be aware of Your presence throughout my day and every day . . . until the day Jesus comes back and I can bow at Your feet.

Have a blessed day everyone!

– Richard

The Glue For Me and You – Exodus 32:7

7 God spoke to Moses, "Go! Get down there! Your people whom you brought up from the land of Egypt have fallen to pieces.

– Exodus 32:7

The Glue For Me and You

Do you ever wonder why God established leadership in His church?  Pastors are God's anointed and chosen leaders, tasked (and sometimes burdened), with helping to keep the flock from falling to pieces.  Yes, that's over-simplified, but if you think about it, we, left to our own devices – ideas, beliefs, customs, preferences, likes, dislikes, etc., can make a huge mess of things without really meaning to.  We get our feelings hurt, we get offended, we get impatient, and we get indignant – all symptoms of the pride and self-serving attitudes that we, especially in America, seem to wear on our sleeves.

God is Holy.  He cannot tolerate sin.  If it was up to Him, we would all be burnt to crispy critters because of our sin (keep reading Exodus, Chapter 32 to see what I mean).  But God, in His infinite Wisdom, and His never-ending Grace and Forgiveness, developed a way for chosen and anointed leaders to "try," to keep some semblance of order in the body of believers they have been assigned to.  He put the onus on them, and I can't think of a more stressful job in this crazy world we live in.  I mean think about it . . . even when everything is going well, out of the blue, sister or brother so-and-so, because of one word, or gesture, or type-o in the church bulletin. can send a scathing letter, or email (all in caps), or request a meeting because THEY think they know how things SHOULD be done.  C'mon Man!

God speaks to our Pastors (just like He spoke to Moses), and HE directs their steps, and their walk, and their leadership style.  He created a wide variety of ways and styles for which to worship Him, and in each of these styles, He placed a man (or woman), so that their specific talents and God-given abilities and gifts, can help HIm (God), enrich and grow a people who understand the God of the universe; the God who created all things; the God who holds their very breath in the palm of His hand.  The pastor is God's representative in the church, and while we have the responsibility to listen and to discern so that we aren't being led over a cliff (hey . . . pastors are human too), we should respect the position and authority that God has placed over them.

The people, whom God called out of sin into His family through Grace, and Forgiveness, and Love . . . His church . . . is falling to pieces!  We're always falling to pieces!  I think it's time we start appreciating the Glue that He's given us to hold us all together . . . our Pastor!  Let your Pastor know how much you appreciate him today.  I bet for a lot of you it's been a long, long time since you last let them know how grateful you are for their time, their dedication, their prayers, their wisdom, and their love for a fickle people that can turn on them like last week's tuna salad.  So give them a hug; send them a card; write them a nice email (with a happy face at the end).  Do or say something that will encourage them and let them know, that you know, that God sent them, and that's good enough!

Prayer

Father, Thank You!

Thank You, for not burning us all up out of Righteous and Holy anger.

Forgive our pettiness and our desire to be in control and for being such a prideful people.

Help us oh Lord, to have grace and wisdom when it comes to our pastor, but most of all, help us to respect the man, the woman, the position that You have sent us and who holds us all together so that we can worship You.

Have a blessed day everyone!

– Richard

Arts and Crafts – Exodus 31:3

3 I've filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him skill and know-how and expertise in every kind of craft

– Exodus 31:3

Arts and Crafts

As a creative person, this scripture sings to me because I know (it's in God's Word), that I have been created to create.  I have been designed to design.  I have been empowered with the Holy Spirit with the capacity to be amazing.  God has done this for each of us – individually, each with our own measure and mix of abilities and gifts – and it's up to us to unwrap and release the full potential that God has so generously given us.

So how do we unleash the creative beast that is within us?  Well, to steal a phrase from Nike, we . . . Just Do It!  That's right . . . just start.  Draw something; write something; sing something; bake something; fix something; organize; theorize; prioritize; do whatever it is that you feel God has put in you to do . . . and do it!  I know for me, one small doodle can turn into an amazingly complex drawing.  I have seen people take a few scraps of cloth and with the vision and skills that God has given them, they have created wonderful articles of clothing.  A chef can take a tomato and create a dish that will generate rave reviews.  An organizer can look at a giant mess, and with the first removal of a piece of paper, an entire plan is set in motion and within a short time, chaos is converted into clean, and neat, and tidy.

You see, we all have potential – God-given potential – to do more than we can do right now.  We can reach heights that are so beyond our imagination, and we can achieve greatness for His Glory by simply initiating a first step.  A beautiful painting is never created until the first dab of paint hits the canvas.  A symphony is never heard unless that first note is played.  A marathon is never won without the first muscle twitch at the sound of the starter's pistol.  Thinking about what you'd like to do is great, but if the thoughts stay in your head then what good are they?  We have to unwrap our gifts, open the box, reach in and grab the potential, and then never put it on a shelf . . . we need to wear it out; use it up; turn it upside down and toss it around.  We need to show the world what the people of God can do when they use the Gifts that God has so freely given to them.  It's our praise to Him.  It's our gift back to the Father, in honor and love for what He has done for us.

Prayer

Father, thank You for gifting us with amazing abilities.  You are THE Creator, and we are so blessed that You have chosen to allow us a glimpse into Your possibilities.  Help us to be wise and to use the talents You have blessed us with to reflect who You are to the rest of the world.  Forgive us for the times when we neglect Your gift to us and for letting busyness get in the way of realizing our true potential with, through, and in You.

Have a blessed day everyone!

– Richard

Gotta Pay Your Taxes – Exodus 30:15

15 The rich are not to pay more nor the poor less than the half-shekel offering to God, the atonement-tax for your lives.

– Exodus 30:15

Gotta Pay Your Taxes

How much is your sin worth?  I don't mean how much did it cost to do the "deed." whatever it may be, I'm talking about the cost to wipe it clean – zero it out – remove it from the books.

The good news is that it costs nothing.  The price has already been paid for those who believe in our Lord Jesus Christ.  But in that freedom that has been so generously and freely given to us, there is a cost – a "decision tax" that we each must make on our own.  Every man, every woman, every person must make this choice for themselves.  You can't be born into it, you can't inherit it from a loved one, you can't buy it, and you can't barter for it.  It has to come from the depths of your heart, from the innermost reality of who you are – your "you" when you are really you.  I like to say it this way . . . When you are alone, by yourself, in the dark with nothing but your thoughts . . . THAT's who you are.  It's THAT person that needs to pay the decision tax – the Atonement Tax – for their life.

More good news:  It doesn't matter how rich you are.  It doesn't matter how poor you are.  God doesn't care if you're white, black, red, yellow, brown, or rainbow-colored.  The cost is the same for everyone.  The price is the same, and the payoff is distributed equally across every living being.  God requires it and He doesn't take into account how good you think you are, because when compared to Him, we are all butt dust (pun intended).

So what is the decision tax and how do you pay it?  Just say "Yes."  Yes to Jesus.  You don't have to do it more than once; you don't have to shout it; you don't have to make a big presentation; you don't even have to dress up in a suit.  You can be a CEO, have a PhD, and an MBA.  You could be jobless, homeless, carless, and toothless.  It doesn't matter who you are, or where you live, or how much Apple stock you have . . . It just takes the simplest and most sincere of contrite hearts, a recognition and confession of who you really are, and then one audible syllable . . . "Yes"

So chances are if you're reading this, you've already paid your taxes. But just in case there's one or two of you who haven't . . . take today to examine who you are.  Get alone with yourself and ask yourself . . . If God called me and my time on this earth was going to end today, would my tax be paid?  Would I be able to justify missing the opportunity?  Would I be too late?

My friend please don't take that chance.  Say "Yes" to Jesus!  Pay your Atonement Tax and from this day forward, you will be paid in full – a Blood-Bought Child of the Most High God!

Prayer

Father, thank You for giving us each an equal chance for atonement.  I pray for those out there who have yet to pay their tax.  Reveal who You are to them Lord, that they might see who they really are without You.

Have a blessed day everyone!

– Richard

Can You Spare Some Change? – Exodus 29

46 They'll realize that I am their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I could live with them. I am God, your God.

– Exodus 29

Can You Spare Some Change?

Life change is hard. It requires time, and energy, and sacrifice.  It brings on stress and even a little trepidation as entering uncharted territory becomes a daily routine.  While we're in it, change  can seem like a bad thing, especially if we are changing things due to an unexpected turn of events.

But if we think about the times when we have grown the most, it's after a time of change – a metamorphosis, if you will, of who we were at point A, to who we've become at point B.  The really hard things that we've had to endure and have successfully traversed, are probably the very things that have helped shape and mold us into more mature and responsible human beings.  It's just the way life works and everything that has breath (and even things that don't), have to abide by the laws of change.

God uses big events to get us to a place where He can "live" with us.  He causes change in our lives and it's usually at a time when the last thing in the world we think we need . . . is change.  We need to learn to recognize when God is wanting to do something in our lives – when it's time to get out of our "comfort-zone" and draw closer to Him; to rely on Him; to press in to Him; to seek HIm.  We need to learn to embrace the unknown territory of change and allow God to do the work that He needs to do in us, so that we can realize . . . I mean REALLY REALIZE, that He is God . . . OUR God!

So if you see change coming on the horizon, don't throw up your hands and ask God "Why?"  Run towards it and meet it head-on!  Shout out to God with a voice of triumph to let Him know that you want what He wants.  Draw strength and courage from the fact that He is your God, and He is taking you through a time of change so that He can live with you, and so that you can live IN Him, and so that your life will reflect how very big God is.  The metamorphose will be amazing!  You will be amazed!  GOD WILL LIVE WITH YOU! . . . and THAT's AMAZING!

Prayer

Father, thank You for bringing change to our lives.  Thank You for wanting to live with us!  Forgive us for grumbling and murmuring about the changes we are going through.  Help us to see and to recognize that it's time to draw as close to You as we possibly can so that You can complete the work You need to do in us.

Have a blessed day everyone!

– Richard

God Wants Your Best Stuff! – Exodus 25:3-7

3 These are the offerings I want you to receive from them: gold, silver, bronze; 

4 blue, purple, and scarlet material; fine linen; goats' hair; 

5tanned rams' skins; dolphin skins; acacia wood; 

6 lamp oil; spices for anointing oils and for fragrant incense; 

7 onyx stones and other stones for setting in the Ephod and the Breast-piece.

– Exodus 25:3-7

God Wants Your Best Stuff!

What are you least willing to part with?  You know, the one thing that would hurt you the most to give up . . . Money?   Jewelry?   Your Home?  How about that fancy car?  Maybe it's something even more precious . . . a child?  A parent?  A spouse even?  Hmmmm.

God doesn't really want (or need), the things that we have, but He doesn't want the things that we have to own us either.  He wants to be our everything.  He desires to be the first and the last thing on our minds every day.  He yearns for the kind of relationship with us that would allow us to see Him in all things and through all circumstances.  God wants the very best for us and it must pain HIm to know that we settle for so much less, and then call those things good.

In today's scripture reading, God is asking for offerings of the "things" that the Israelites considered "precious."  He knew that if they used these materials to build a sanctuary for Him, they would revere and honor and consider It holy – they would treat His sanctuary with the respect and awe that It deserved.  How sad is that?  I mean God doesn't need gold, or silver, or bronze; He doesn't need silk or animal furs and skins, or fragrant oils . . . God is in the clouds, and in fire, and He shakes the earth with a mere whisper.  But God loves us so much, and He knows that we have this need to hang onto "things."  So God, in His infinite wisdom, sets things up so that we can feel closer to Him.  He asks for us to offer those "things," our finest possessions, so that we can feel and know that He is to be honored.  I think if I was in His position, I would be so mad, and I would say "forget all these ungrateful and fickle people!"  Whew!  Thankfully I'm not or I would have to "forget" about myself most of all!

This has really opened my eyes and it makes me want to give all that I am; all that I have to Him.  Whatever He wants.  Whenever He wants it.  However He asks for it.  But most of all, I want to give Him all of ME.  My hopes, my dreams, my wants, my future – my EVERYTHING!  I don't want God to have to chase after me (even though I know He would).  I want to be the man that chases after God.  I want to be a man that wrestles with Him and refuses to let go.  I want to be right smack-dab in the middle of His will.  I think that would be an awesome place to be . . . and I pray that for you as well!

Prayer

Father, Thank You for allowing us to give you our best.  Forgive our idolatry and covetousness.   Help us to recognize those things that have ahold on us so that we can have a true perspective on who You are in our lives.  

Have a blessed day everyone!

– Richard

Preparation Is Key! – Exodus 23:20

20 "See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. 

– Exodus 23

Preparation Is Key!

Hey – Great news . . . our reservations have been made, the preparations are all complete, the accommodations are perfect – nothing has been left undone.  All that we need to do is show up and show our I.D.!

So why are so worried all the time?  Why then, do we wonder how, and when, and why?  What is it in us that causes us to have such little faith in the promises that God has so freely given us?  

I think the problem is that sometimes, we forget who we really are.  We look at our I.D. – our identity as Blood-Bought, Victorious children of the Most-High God – and we can't even recognize the face staring back at us; the photo is distorted and while there is a hint of recognition, the features are just too blurry.  We just can't see who we really are.

God tells us to "SEE!"  SEE who we are.  SEE what He has already done for us.  SEE the promise of the life Jesus has given us.  But we walk around with blinders on and all we see are the problems, and the bills, and the issues.  We worry, and we fret, and we try to handle everything ourselves.  We forget who we are, and we run around in circles like a dog chasing its tail, and then we wonder why we can't seem to get out of the rut that we've made for ourselves.

So, again . . . Great News!  We can climb on out of that rut today!  We can take a deep breath, lift our heads high, raise our arms and shout a great big shout of victory and praise to our God!  We can Believe - I mean REALLY BELIEVE, that all the answers, to all the questions, to all the issues that seem to keep trying to throw our lives into a crazy tailspin, have already been taken care of!  

God has sent a Guardian Angel whose sole assignment is to lead us home!  It's up to us to see and to follow.  It's up to us to stop believing the lies that the enemy so successfully puts in our heads.  We need to recognize who we really are . . . Victorious – Righteous – Redeemed – Blood-Bought – Forgiven – Heirs of the Most-High God!

See?

Prayer

Father, Thank You for reminding us that all we have to do us to see what You have already done for us.  Forgive us for focusing more on our problems than on You.  Help us to have the faith to live this life with confidence in Your promises.

Have a blessed day everyone!

– Richard