Danger in Comfort

We all love to sing even though some of us are not really gifted with it (I assure you, you don't want to hear me sing).
"...no matter what I face, when trouble comes my way, I will praise your name."
Somebody once mentioned that its not easy to praise God when things are going rough. But we've just got to do it. Let's take a look at this version of the song; "...no matter what I face, when success comes my way, I will praise your name". Most of us think its easy to praise when we're successful but I'd say its not easy to as much as remember God. In Deuteronomy 8, Moses was warning the Israelites against the dangers of comfort. "Don't forget your God when you have eaten and are full." David's kingdom had become powerful and had conquered its enemies around. And so "...at a time when kings go to war..." (2 Samuel 11:1), David stayed back home in Jerusalem where he saw Bathsheba - the rest is history!
Israel was more prosperous under Solomon than under any other king in its history. Need I mention how many wives Solomon ended up with? Not to mention concubines!
So, I guess when next I sing that song, I'll say "...no matter what I face, whatever comes my way, I will praise your name!"

Change

Two things we should not forget about change; (a) change starts from within (b) change takes time.

Many times we think we can change other people when we really can't. We think we change them by criticizing and condemning them or by appraising and commending them. But cannot. Its not in our power to change people. We can't even change that little bad habit that plagues us and we set about changing an entire personlity - a complex interaction of background, environment, upbringing and temperament not to mention that the personality is not even ours. Its someone else's! The power to change comes from God and God alone. He is our maker, He made us and if He made us, then He can change us.

As I stated earlier, change comes from within. It goes from inside out. We are first of all changed, then we can go about changing other people.

Our Relationship with God

Certain things which apply to our relationship with our human friends also apply to our relationship with God. God's three favorite phrases are 'please', 'I'm sorry' and 'thank you'. We say 'please' when we want from God, 'I'm sorry' when we offend Him and 'thank You' when we get from Him. When these come from our hearts, they signal our weakness and our dependence in His all sufficiency - our total dependence on Him.

We sometimes make the mistake of thinking God is a 7th dimension cosmo-being who will one day cause an inter-galactic hyper-blast which will bring the whole world to a grinding halt. We think therefore that our relationship with Him must be really, really, complex.. That's not so. God is not a 7th dimension inter-galactic blah blah blah. He has personality and He has feelings too.

So, don't you forget those three phrases; 'please', 'I''m sorry', 'thank you'. Three phrases that keep relationships going - like the one between us and Him.

Time out for God

How many of us are not guilty of attempting to squeeze God into our daily schedule? I'm guilty. Not once, not twice, not thrice. Countless times actually. You know, just ruffle Him in there somewhere in that jungle of activity and routine. We sing in the shower, say a prayer while dressing, read a verse or two just before we go out, and morning devotion is done!

Despite our unfaithfulness, God remains eternally faithful. If God were to be faithful to me only as much as I've been to Him, then I don't think I would wake up tomorrow morning - to squeeze Him into my daily routine again.

God's faithfulness should not be taken for granted. It should actually drive us to a higher level of commitment. We must remember that God owns the day, all of it, and so He should always be number one. Not only do we commit all our ways into His hands, we should also take the time to build a more intimate relationship with Him. Remember '...take the time...' not hurriedly.

Choice

God does not force us to do anything. He causes us to do them. There's a difference between the two. In the first case we might imagine us being marrionet puppets - you know those wooden puppets with strings tied to their arms and legs. When, however, God causes us to do things, He gives us strong reasons for which to do those things. Ultimately, the choice is still up to us to make. God says if you obey you get life, if you disobey you get destruction. The choice is still up to us whether to obey or not. So, He causes us to obey, we can, however, still disobey Him - if we don't like His offer.

God is always thinking about us

I noticed one day how one infant's fingers wrapped around his mother's index fingers. Then, it occured to me; that's how we're wrapped around God's thoughts. Everything God thinks about is us. The only thing that occupies His mind is us. Everything He does, He does with us in His mind. This was what David observed when he asked "what is man that thou art mindful of him...?" (Psalm 8:4). Another translation says "what is man that You are always thinking about him?"
What's more? The universe isn't big enough to distract His thoughts away from us. There aren't enough stars in the galaxies to keep Him too busy to answer our prayers. So, if you have that knotty situation, take it to Him in prayer and remember He's been thinking about you all day long.

Jesus Loves Me too: A message from the Bible

Jesus Loves Me too: A message from the Bible