Who Holds Your Future?

"For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, to give you a future and a hope." Jer. 29:11

How's life treating you these days? Do you find yourself in the eye of some storm or in the center of those tribulations Jesus spoke about in the Bible? Well don't give up and don't give in because God has you in the palm of His hand.

In the scripture verse above, Jeremiah speaks this prophetic word right in the middle of God's pronounced judgment on Israel. In other words, things were going really bad for the nation Israel when God had His prophet speak these words of encouragement to His people.

Life itself has a tendency to bring on stress and worry - marriage issues, family issues, job issues, bills, bills, bills. You name it, we all go through it. It's our perception of these issues that determines our physical and emotional response to them. If we have no hope in anything or anyone we feel insecure, and it's those insecurities that cause our anxieties.

God says that He wants to give us a peace that's beyond our own understanding. He tells us, Don't worry about your life, about what you will eat or drink, or about the clothes you will wear, there is something much more important than that. What could possibly be more important than those things to us? He goes on to answer that question, He says life itself is more important than these earthly concerns. Your spiritual life, your eternal life is more important than these things. God tells us, look at the birds, they don't worry about such things. Why not? Because God meets their every need. He finishes this verse by saying "Are you not much more valuable than they?", the answer to this question is an emphatic "Yes".

Sometimes our stress is brought on by the unknown. We don't know what the future holds for us. We have all these expectations, all these desires, hopes and dreams but we don't know which of them will ever be fulfilled. So we struggle to make them happen under our own finite power.

I recently applied for a promotion at work. The promotion process entailed filling out an application, taking a written exam and sitting through an interview (only if I passed the exam). Now I've done this before, but it's been years, and in the past it's been a very stressful process. Maybe you've had the same type of experience and can relate to what I'm saying. But this time it was different, I set in my heart and mind that I was putting my future in God's hands, that I was taking Him at His word. I am believing that He has the best possible future already laid out for me, so I'm going to abide by His will for my life. If I get the promotion great, but it will only be because it's part of His original plan for me. If I don't get it that's okay too, because that will be His plan for me as well. What a relief, talk about taking the pressure off! I have been at peace through the entire process.

I prepared the best I could for the exam - I felt at ease while I was taking it, which was not normal for me, and when I was finished I prayed, "Lord your will be done". I received an e-mail the following week with the date and time of my interview (I passed the test, praise God!). With a little preparation and a lot of prayer I went into the interview relaxed. What a complete change from previous interview experiences I've had. I felt the peace of God, the peace that comes from knowing that my life is in my heavenly Father's hands. If this promotion is meant to be for me then it will happen. If not, then that must be the Lord's will for me at this time in my life. I will trust Him with my future because He is my hope. For now, I just wait.

What about you? Do you belong to God? Have you given your life over to Him? Do you consider yourself one of His children? Then He commands you saying, don't be anxious about anything, in other words, don't worry about it. The above verse from Jeremiah is for you, God wants you to trust in Him. Do not strive, do not fret, instead walk in faith. No matter what your storm is right now, or what tribulation you're going through, it's no match for God's promises.

If you're not sure about where you stand with God, if you are struggling with your day-to-day life and you want the peace I'm talking about here, all you have to do is call out to God with a sincere heart. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you in a real way and to show you where you're failing. When this happens you will begin to realize that you have a need that only God can fulfill, that need is salvation through Jesus Christ. The Word of God (the Bible) is full of promises, and God is true to His word. However, His promises are for His children, those who have surrendered their own will to His perfect will. Find the peace you've been seeking in the God who has promised you a future and a hope. Let Christ be your hope today!

God Bless and Press On
Larry

Different By Design

"If there is one imperative in my life, it is winning souls to Jesus Christ. No matter how many souls I might have won, it is never enough. If I stop bringing people to the Lord or stop bearing fruit, God has the right to cut me off and put someone else behind the pulpit." Tommy Barnett.

We are not all called to be evangelist's but we are all called to be a witness. Matt. 28:19

From a very early age we all display an innate desire to belong, to be accepted. When I was very young my parents signed me up for youth baseball, flag football, Cub Scouts and other positive activities. In participating in those activities I did my best to excel so I would be accepted and fulfill the need to be liked.

As I grew older sports remained a part of my life as was Boy Scouts for awhile. My parents had the right idea, trying to involve me in good character building programs. Programs where good people were, people with the same basic needs of acceptance and belonging. By the time I was leaving Jr. High school and entering High school there were other things pulling for my allegiance.

I was initiated or "jumped in" early in my freshman year. Back then we called it the "barrio" not a gang like today. Even then there was a conflict going on inside me. There was a battle between doing what I knew was right and doing what others wanted me to do. These others or "homeboys" were much like me, we were basically good people being led astray by an influence we didn't understand. We were young boys looking to be somebodies, to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, to be noticed and accepted.

You need to understand where this type of lifestyle can lead a young boy who wants his older "homies" to notice him, accept him and even respect him. It doesn't take much external motivation, added to the needs he's already feeling to get him to go along with this new program, as negative as it might be.

You may be asking "where is he going with all this?" Let me tell you.

We all have the same basic need to belong and be accepted. No matter what your age or walk of life you need to be wanted and loved. Much like that young boy choosing a gang there are things desiring our allegiances. On the one hand, there are the things of this world, evil or not, they are things of the flesh. On the other hand, there are the things of the Spirit, which are good and righteous - the things of God. The Bible tells us that God has set eternity in our hearts and that there is nothing better than to be happy and do good while we live. That innate feeling of wanting to be accepted is our heart seeking after God our creator.

So often we shy away from those things that will cause people to associate us with our Christian faith, our church or even our belief in God. We don't want to be perceived as different, weird or a freak. So instead of standing up for what we believe, we go along with what the others are doing, we try to fit in, we go with the flow. Why do we do this? Because we want the world to accept us as one of their own. We want to feel a part of it all, not singled or left out.

But that's not what Christ has called us to. God has called us to be set apart, to be different. Different than those who have no god. Otherwise, if we are just like them, what need do they have in this "Jesus" we claim to follow?

A number of times in the Bible (KJV) God called His children to be a "Peculiar" people. Peculiar huh? I wondered what that meant exactly so I looked in up in the Webster's Dictionary. It said this:
1. strange, odd 2. uncommon, unusual 3. distinct in nature or character from others
4. belonging characteristically or exclusively to some person, group or thing.

This is what the Lord is calling us to and I know it's not going to be easy especially in this day and age. There is so much negativity shown toward the things of God these days, that we are fearful at times to proclaim who we are and where our allegiance lies.

I want to challenge you today to stand up for what you believe in. No, more important than that stand up for WHO you believe in. Don't be afraid, instead be positive, be joyful, be a servant and enjoy life while you're doing good in the name of Jesus. You belong to Him. He accepts you for who you are. There is nothing greater or bigger to be a part of then the Kingdom of God.

God Bless and Press On
Larry

One Thing I Desire

"One thing I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after..." Ps. 27:4

There are so many things today vying for our time and energy. Things that are not necessarily bad or evil, yet they are disruptive or distractions from the ONE most important thing. God desires a relationship with you and I. He wants to be THE priority in our life not an addition or an afterthought.

In my life I have a few hobbies, I always have. These hobbies are things I enjoy doing between my work day, household chores, prayer time, church attendance, personal devotion time, and teaching. Right now I have two in particular that are on-going; restoration of a 1968 Chevy El Camino and reading various novels on my Kindle (e-books). I love to read.

Lately I've noticed a shift in the amount of time, energy and money spent on these hobbies of mine. It came about subtly and gradually and had I not been nudged by the Holy Spirit's prompting (He had to nudge me pretty hard) I could have missed it's significance all together. Are these hobbies of mine bad? No way not at all, they are things I do to relax, things that I enjoy that help break up the monotony of everyday life. "Than what's the problem?" you might ask. Well this is what I've noticed:

I don't miss a day of work. My creditors won't allow it, my bills must be paid, the family needs to be fed as do our cars, in fact I work as much overtime as I can to make the ends meet - can I get an amen.

I take care of my household chores and repairs (although my wife says not nearly fast enough). If I didn't the grass would grow into a jungle, the weeds would kill off all the plants and the paint on the house would peel off. My neighbors would be complaining and the city would give me a fix-it ticket and I'd have to eventually get to it all anyway. By the way, who owns whom?

I go to church regularly (almost always). It's something I really enjoy, more so in the last five months. I want to worship God, I want to hear God's Word, I want to fellowship with other believers. I don't want to deal with my conscience telling me that I should be at church not home in bed sleeping. And I don't want to get the phone calls from those well meaning brothers and sisters asking if "everything's o.k." If I'm sick or If I need prayer, and "Oh and by the way, why weren't you in church today?" No, I'm there because I want to be there.

So what I've noticed is this:
The areas that are getting robbed of time - the areas that are being robbed of my energies - the extra time that I'm using for my hobbies, these areas for me and maybe for you too are the ones that give us the least amount of pain or cost us less if we neglect them (at least it seems that way on the surface). We all know and understand that there's only 24 hour in each day and if I'm investing more time in some areas than I should be, than other areas are suffering.

So I found myself praying less. Talking to and hearing from God are vitally important in my life, but because He doesn't slap me up-side the head It's easy to "forget" to pray, or "run out of time", or just be "too tired" and neglect this important aspect of my Christian walk. Eventually we will feel the results.

I also noticed I was spending less time in God's Word. Oh sure I read and studied and prepared for the weekly Bible Study I teach, but my personal devotion time was suffering. I wasn't hearing from the Lord because I wasn't taking the time to listen to Him. Jesus deserves my attention, He deserves my devotion and my time, I had to stop letting other things of less importance get in the way.

God doesn't mind that we have hobbies and interests besides Him. He doesn't mind that we involve ourselves in activities that are fun and relaxing or exciting and exhilarating, whatever they may be for you. But, He does mind that we allow those things to rob us of our opportunities to get to know Him better, to have a personal living relationship with Him.

Why don't you stop right now and listen for His voice. See if He's trying to get your attention, trying to invite you into a deeper more personal relationship with Him. He loves you and wants to give you a heads up - to help you see the distractions that you are allowing to get in the way of the great things he wants to do in and through you. What are your priorities today and where does God fit into them?

"One thing I desire of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To behold the beauty of the Lord, and inquire in His temple." Ps. 27:4

God Bless and Press On
Larry

The Beginning and The End and The Beginning

Well Happy New Year to all! 2009 has come and gone in what seems like a flash and I look back with mixed feelings. I had a beautiful grandson born in March while Patsy and I were in Hawaii, baby Gabriel was born 8 weeks early so he was very small and fragile and had us all worried. He was in the hospital for the first month of his life but thanks be to God he's a big healthy baby boy now. Since the beginning of the year I've felt a stirring in my spirit, a feeling from the Lord that he was wanting more from me, so I began to pray. And pray. And pray. I believe that God was wanting me to leave behind some old stuff, old ways, old ideas, old dreams and desires and seek something fresh and new from Him. Of course you know how difficult it is sometimes to leave the familiar and comfortable for something new and unknown but Patsy and I prayed for His direction and divine guidance. During this time we noticed an all out spiritual attack on our family, if there is anything that our family is known for it's for our closeness and unity for the love that we show towards each other. That unity was severely challenged in 2009 and I believe it's because of our commitment to draw closer to Jesus and serve Him more fully. I began to feel a renewal in my spirit a "fresh fire" for ministry in June and began to look for a new church home, someplace where God is doing a new thing that Patsy and I could be a part of. By mid-September the Lord had led us to Desert Reign Assembly in Downey, a new work with some old friends and family, from day one we knew we were home. It's exciting to see the Spirit of God moving, and a group of people who aren't afraid to express their joy through worship and service to Him. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us in the year 2010 and beyond.

No matter what the challenges may be in your life right now I want you to know that our God is faithful. He hears your cries and He has the answers to the questions of your heart, I also want to encourage you to trust Him no matter what the situation looks like. I have been so blessed recently to begin to see a glimmer of light - God's light- shinning through where my family is concerned and I have no doubt that my God is answering my prayers. I'm looking forward to a complete restoration but until that day comes I will trust Him.

God Bless and Press On

Larry