365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 76

At the end of the book of Job, God speaks to Job and basically God says I am God and I command everything over the universe. He ends up blessing Job in the later years of his life with more children, etc and tells Job that his friends need to sacrifice a burnt offering for their foolish words. In the end, we can be angry with God, we can ask the why’s and we have to remember that God is God and we may not get the answers to our why’s. The main purpose is to keep in relationship with God. Don’t let bitterness or well-meaning friends and their words turn you away from the God who is infinite, who can do all things. Always look to Him and pray.

Job 42:10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 290

Our sermon yesterday was about God's calling for us. The "us" is all of us, not just pastors, deacons or teachers but everyone. God calls us each of us to specific tasks. For some it will be as a prayer warrior, for others it will be adminstration and like me it will be to help the hurting. I have been wavering with my own lack of confidence in who I am and my skills to be a Christian counselor and thankfully have always come back to the same conclusion it is my calling. I have been focusing too much on what I lack instead of on the Lord and what he can equip me with. This is his call, not mine. It is bigger than me. Jesus started his ministry with the calling of two simple fisherman, Simon and Andrew who the bible says dropped their nets and followed him. They may have had their doubts along the way to becoming the disciples Jesus called them to be but with his help they got past their doubts and fears and just took on the job they were called for. I got home and was thoroughlly energized and motivated with creativity and put this faithbook page together. The photo is of me but created with a patchwork filter to send the message that the focus isn't on ourselves but on the big umbrella covering the whole universe that is God and his plan and purpose. Thanks be to God for helping me see the bigger picture and taking on the job the Lord is calling me for.
Mark 1: 16-18  As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew Casting a net into the lake, for they were fisherman. "Come, follow me, " Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 84

You have probably done this before and felt something similar. I was in the spa last evening relaxing after a stressful day at work and after the lights automatically went out, the sky darkened and my eyes adjusted and I started to see a multitude of stars. Not just those really bright ones that always seem to be there but the more distant ones that need a very clear sky without lights affecting it. I just stared in amazement. It reminded me of a time when my family went camping in a desert somewhere in CA and we got to sleep out under the stars. If you have never been in the desert at night, you need to get it on your list of things to do. I was probably elementary school age and because my memory is so bad, the fact that this stayed with me is a testimony to how powerful an experience it was. You want a good idea of how great our God is take a nighttime look at the universe he created. Wow! Our God is so great! Our God created this huge seemingly unendless universe and yet he is right here with us, loving us, caring for us, giving up his son to save us. I am in awe and will seek out that nighttime sky full of stars to remind me often of how much we are loved by the One true God of the universe.
Psalm 8:3-4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him?