Tag Archives: personal

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Trouble Free Heart!

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“Do not let your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me.”     John 14:1

When Jesus speaks these words, he is not offering a suggestion to be accepted, he is giving a command to be obeyed, a principle to be followed.  It is not optional, it is the very foundation to our getting the spiritual life right for His glory.  Jesus was giving this information to his disciples right before he was to be crucified.  Life as they knew it was about to encounter the biggest change and most crazy challenge that they had ever faced.  They were about to have to live in a world without Jesus in the flesh.  Jesus was preparing them, by telling them that no matter what – “Do not let your hearts be troubled!”

Have you ever noticed that most believers and non believers respond in just about the same way to the challenges of life.  This should not be.  Believers should respond with faith over fear, with expectation over desperation and with hope over hopelessness.  Most all of us, tend to respond to the challenges of life with our emotions.  The problem with this, is that if we don’t control our emotions, then our emotions will control us.

The problem with emotions is that they tend to want to run and will run away from your control before you know it.  When Jesus says:  “Let not your hearts be troubled!”, he is teaching us to reign in our emotions before they get out of control.  You can rule your emotions, or they will rule you.  Every person has to decide for themselves – how they are going to handle the tough battle with emotions.

If you decide that you want to deal with your emotions, then you have to learn how not to indulge the negative.  Life is full of negatives.  We are surrounded and bombarded by them from all forms of media.  Indulging the negative is making an on purpose decision to live life in fear, not in faith.  If Jesus commands us to do something, then it is possible and what seems impossible, always becomes possible through the power of faith expressed in our everyday living.

Life is going to throw some challenges your ways this week, I want to encourage you to follow the instruction of Jesus and “LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED!  I promise you will be glad you did!  😉

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Just Like Dad!

I was talking with my oldest daughter Gracie on the way to school one day this past week and was amazed at how much she is just like me.  Her observations, horse sense, opinions and judgments.  There are some things that I see her do, or hear her say that rub me the wrong way, until I realize that those things are some of the same things that I continually find myself battling with.

I like to think that I am a good man, but the truth is that I am a sinner saved by grace.  My goodness is not from myself, but from my Creator, Savior and Friend.  Sometimes I find myself getting less tolerant of my family and friends, in what I perceive to be their challenges or weaknesses, but then the Spirit helps me to look within myself and I know that I have more than enough work to do on myself, so I am learning to let the other go.

I was created to love and be loved.  Judgment is above my pay grade and I am not really any good at it any way, so I will leave that to the Creator, Who sees all, knows all and is in control of all.

Father,  Thank You for reminding me that I am just a man, but I am not just any man, I am Your man.  Help me to grow into these big shoes that you have given me to fill and help me to walk on the path that you have marked out for me.  Along the way, as I encounter others, help me to love them as you have loved me – without condition.  Help me to help and bless others with no expectations.  Help me to remember that my service to others, is really my service to You.  Help me to love at all times, be patient in all situations and yielded to you in not just some things, but in everything.

I pray that one day, when You are looking at me as Your son, that You will see some of what makes You so great in me!

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Filled Up!

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”  Romans 5:3-5

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Fillerup!

No one likes trials and troubles, but everyone has them and while we don’t like them, it helps to know that when we do, there is a purpose.  The Scripture teaches us that we can rejoice and be happy when we face the challenges of life, because the challenges are helping us to develop and grow endurance.

Endurance is the ability to remain active and productive even when facing adverse conditions.  It is the picture of something that lasts, regardless of time.  As we face trials and troubles, God is using the problems to develop endurance in our lives.  We can rejoice because this endurance develops character.

Character is the moral and ethical traits that make you uniquely who you are.  Someone has said that character is who you are when no one else is looking.  As we endure trials, we develop character. And our character as it grows and develops produces hope.

Hope is a feeling that things are going to be better.  Our hope is in our salvation and the relationship that it makes possible with our Creator.  This relationship is based in the love of a Creator for His creation.  This love is grown in the relationship of trust, which is strengthened in hope of an even brighter tomorrow.  This day and every day after this, is possible, because of our relationship with, to and through the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with the amazing and blessed love of our most awesome friend and Creator…

Take some time today, even in the midst of challenges to let Him fill you up with His Spirit!