God Is In Control

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:" Ecclesiastes 3:1

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

Excuse me. What’s an EGR?

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:31-32

I heard an interesting reference today when a coworker described the difficult people she had to deal with as EGRs. Instantly I started trying to decipher its meaning and even came up with a few good ones. Starting with 'E', I went down the line…egregious, enormous, extreme…you get the picture. Until finally I asked, "What’s an EGR?"

Tomorrow

"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." Proverbs 27:1

Today is always the day. The moment is always now. We should be careful about our “great big plans” for the future. I do not even know what today will bring. Twenty-four hours from now everything could be totally different. These kinds of sayings should be on our lips often to remind us of how little control we have over what can happen so fast in our lives.

Trust in God.......

Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Kim:

"Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding." Proverbs 3:5

I have heard many people say that reading the Bible is confusing. They say “I have tried to read the Bible, but I don’t understand what God is saying and I end up feeling frustrated and confused.” I am learning that there are some things that I am not meant to know or to understand. But I am suppose to ask God to show me what I can do to understand and then I must NOT question God when He reveals it to me.

I Like The Boy Scouts

Proverbs 21:21 "He who pursues righteousness and loyalty finds life, prosperity, and honor."

When I think of loyalty, automatically, my first thought is about Boy Scouts. The first word associated with scouts is “loyal”. I have always admired Boy Scouts, and though I have never been one, I have participated in several Eagle Scout Ceremonies as a Pastor. So often today, we see disloyalty and divided loyalties. Disloyalty is obviously sinful, but divided loyalties are sometimes difficult to see, especially if you are the one divided.

What is God's Will?

Today's Devotion comes to us from Council Member, John:

Many of us stress and worry about what it is that God wants from us. We ponder what His will or purpose is for our lives.

We find ourselves praying that He will reveal it to us in some comprehensive and detailed revelation or "Aha Moment" that will set the exact steps or paths we are to follow to a specific life purpose or goal.

However, that is rarely how God works. More often, He tells us first just to be obedient in very simple ways and to trust, by faith, that He will, day by day, direct and advise our lives for his purposes. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

So what are some of the simple things He clearly "wills" for us to do? (1) To love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength; (2) To love our neighbors (others) as much as we love ourselves [and that can prove difficult if we haven't yet figured out how to love ourselves]; (3) To treat others the way we would like to be treated; (4) To be humble and care for others who are in need; (5) To do justice (i.e., be fair), love mercy and to walk humbly with out God; (6) To "seek first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all other things will be granted unto you; and (7) To show our love for Him by our obedience to His Word and how we actually treat each other.

So, let's stop asking God to somehow lay out for us His "Grand Plan" for our lives, and instead, simply "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean NOT on your own understanding; In ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He WILL make your paths straight.(Proverbs 3:5-6)

I believe if we will just focus on "actually doing" these very basic but critical things He has asked us to do, in faith, in the circumstances He presents us with each day, He will direct our path and thereby guide us to do, and to be exactly what He has planned for our lives.

Let's Not Allow Regret To Rob Us Of Our Joy

Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, John Adams:

All of us probably have times in our lives, and some of us might be experiencing that right now, when we wish out loud that we could just start over. If only we could go back and have another chance in some area of our lives, we would sure do things differently. Have you had that thought recently when it seems that everywhere you turn, things are just not going your way. Well, the truth of the matter is that we can't go back and probably shouldn't want to because, in some sense, it means that we are then trying to take the control of our lives away from God, where it rightfully should rest.

So, how do we live our lives without allowing regret to rob us of the joy that God promises? One of my favorite Scriptures is Proverbs 3 -"Further Benefits of Wisdom", where God shares:

"My Son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years, and bring you prosperity... TRUST IN THE LORD with all your heart and LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING; in all your ways, ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, and HE WILL make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:1-2;5-6

At those times when I dare wander away from faithfully holding onto the promises God has given me, that's where the real troubles begins. Self doubt can start to take over, and pretty soon, it seems as if nothing is going as planned, so I must be doing something wrong, and only if I had done "thus and so" differently. Is there really any guarantee that if we had done any of the things in our lives differently, that the outcome would have ended up differently? The real answer is "no" because to answer "yes" means that we believe that we are directing our paths, not God, and we should know that this is not the case.

So, I for one am going to keep clinging on, in faith, by trusting in the Lord with my mind, soul, and whole heart, that He directs the outcome of ALL THINGS (not me), and He alone will do that which needs to be done in my life. Just a little reminder to myself today, that I so desperately needed, and so, I hope that this was a message that might minister to some of you today as well. Be reminded that "By wisdom, the Lord laid the earth's foundations, by understanding, He set the Heavens in place. (Proverbs 3:19) He remains in control, at all times, and for that reason, JOY is ours for the taking.

Wishing you a joyful and joyous weekend.

John