"SLOW DOWN A LITTLE"

         "This is what the sovereign Lord, the Holy one of Israel, 

                says; "In repentance and rest is your salvation, 

                       In quiteness abd trust is your dtrength."

                                           Isaiah 30 : 15

Repentance is just a fancy word that means "to turn around." It literally means "to change your mind."

My advice is to change your mind about all the busyness in your life. Most people think the more they plan and the more they do, the safer and stronger they will be. I see it differently. I want you to slow down and take time to be quiet. Rest and trust Me, and I'll  help you to be strong and successful anyway. That doesn't mean that you never have to plan or take action but it does mean that if all you do is plan and try, you're missing out on my best for you.

       Have you visited a bookstore recently? You might be surprised at what you would find titles like The One Minute Manager, five Steps to Revolutionize your life, think and Grow Rich, and other time management and stress-relieving books. Even Christian books are getting into a learn from compressed spirituality in short, manageable segments" mode. There is the temptation to present such books as spiritual capsules that promise painless growth and ultimate victory.

       Today we are programming our lives, compressing hours  into minutes, and expecting instant results and immediate success. We strive to leverage God, asking Him to help bolster our output. But does it really work? No.

       Then we ask, "God, why did You do this to me?" As though our overload was the result of a defect in His workmanship or He was deaf to our cry for help. So who is to blame when we attempt to do the impossible?

        Read Psalm 46:10 and mediate on the wisdom of the Almighty. Listen to His voice saying, "Be still and know that I am God." Learning that you can't do it all, all at once, is the first step to focusing on what you can do.

        You also need to accept the fact that you can't be everything and be everywhere at the same time. Accepting this allows you to think through where you do want to be and who  you want to be with--whether it is your children, your spouse, or your friends. Like a kid with a fistful of coins at a candy store, the years of your life are spent very quickly and there is no turning back the time. We must learn, like what the psalmist said, to "number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). You are a project under construction. Please be patient as He's still polishing the stone.

        Taking time out to be with Me during a busy day is always a good idea. As you wait on Me, I'll give you the strength you need. Slow down a little.

"TRY PRAYING INSTEAD"

         Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and 

          Petition, with thankgiving, present your requests to God. And the 

         Peace of God will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus.

                                              Philippians 4 : 6-7

What do you worry about? Other people's opinion of you? Your family? Money? Grades? Your safety? Whatever it is, I want to tell you something-- worry is a total waste of time. It accomplishes zero.

Have you ever found yourself sitting in a hospital waiting room, anticipating a doctor's report on biopsy? Those are anxious momemts to be sure. You think of Paul's words: "Do not be anxious about anything." You believe those words, but that doesn't make it any easier to practice them, or so it seems anyway." Do not be anxious about anything" doesn't mean to be foolhardy, but rather, don't be bothered or troubled.

        Now the doctor may tell you not to worry about your condition, but you can't tune out your problem and forget about it. It just doesn't happen that easily. You can try all kinds of things to get your mind off that biopsy report. But it doesn't go away by itself. You can deaden the pain, or superficially or artificially block out the tension, but that won't remove the cause of the problem.

        Paul has a genuine solution for worry-free joy-- PRAYER. One of our hymns tells us:

                Oh what peace we often forfeit,

                Oh, what needless lain we bear,

                All because we do not carry

                Everything to God in prayer.

        And isn't that true? St. Peter writes, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." Getting rid of our worries before they worry us that would be real joy. And that is exactly what Paul suggests, "But in everything by prayer and petition, with thankgiving, present your requests to God." Certainly God knows our needs even before we ask, yet he wants us to ask and promises to answer our prayers. James tells us in his Epistle, "You do not have because you do not ask God."

        Our requests are to be made known to the Lord. In what better hands can any troubles or needs rest than in the hands of God! That's the way to beat worry. Paul's words contain the assurance that God will attend to all we ask or even think. And don't forget, this is done with thankgiving. Our thanks will naturally, be included in Our prayers. A thankful heart is also joyful heart.

        Instead of spinning your wheels on an endless cycle of worry, try praying instead. Take your worries on and shape them into prayers. For instance, say you've been worrying about argument you had with a friend. Take that worry and pray, "Father, help me repair our friendship. Show me what to do." I will. Then I'll send My peace to replace your worry. Try it! It works!

"Changing the Subject"

    "When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus,

    "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the  kingdom of God.'"

                                               LUKE 14:15

Imagine the scene in Luke 14:1-24. Jesus was invited to dinner at a Pharisee's home  in the rich suburbs of Jerusalem. He noticed that the wealthy people were grabbing the best seats. At that point, Jesus launched into a story about the sort of dinner parties people ought to give feasts for the forgotten, the homeless, and the poor. The Lord added that althought these people would not be able to repay them, the hosts would, nevertheless, be repaid at the resurrection (Luke 14:14).

     You can imagine what happened next Jesus probably sat down, put His napkin on His lap, and picked up an hors d'oeuve. Silence hung over the table as the wealthy people shot nervous glance at each other.

     The party spirit was damped, so one dinner guest cleared his throat and spoke up: "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God" ( Luke 14:15 ). What an odd thing to say! It's as if he said: "Jesus, I can't say that I follow your strange ideas a put dining with cripples, but I do agree with what you say about heaven it's so comforting to know that everything will turn out perfectly in the end."

     In other words, the man was trying his best to change the spiritual subject. But just as the Lord did not allow those dinner guests to switch the subject. (Read Luke 14:15-24), we will find it just as difficult to divert God's attention from those issues that need to be address in our lived.

     Almighty God, I know I've often tried to change the spiritual subject when I've sensed Your conviction in my heart. When You' pricked my conscience, I've often tried to divert your attention to other areas of my life. May I listen to you today and not try to change the subject when your word speaks loud and clear.

"Our Sins hurt God"

"Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge 

Psalm 51:4(KJV) 

A young friend of mine, who is usually mild-tempered exploded in anger when her mother meddled in her relationship with her boyfriend. Afterward she shook her head and said, "I don't what came over me. I'm not like that at all. That's not me,"

   I look directly at my friend and warned, I'm afraid you're wrong. That is you. You are like that." I could understand the look of surprise on her face, for we both knew that she was not one usually given to outbursts of anger. I went on to explain. "All of us, at any moment, are capable of the most vicious sins against others and against God. In fact, we could all say yes, we are like that."'

  Jerry Bridges, in his book, The Pursuit of Holiness, says: "We are more concerned about our own victory over sin than we are about the fact that our sins grieve the heart of God. We cannot tolerate failure in our struggle with sin, chiefly because we are success-oriented, not because we know it is offensive to God."

  We will be likely to sin once we realize that sinful behavior breaks God's heart. Our sins hurt God more than they hurt others. How many times have you said after a moment of

disobedience, "I don't know what came over me, I'm usually not like that at all. " it's true. We like to  think of ourselves as above average sinners, not quite as wretched as those who commit truly ugly. No matter how great or wall. Our problem is that our attitude toward sin is more self-centered than God-centered.

  My Lord I realize that all of my sin grieve you thank you for helping me today live a life that pleases You  and does not grieve you heart. 

"The Containers"

         "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that

         this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us"

                                     2 Corinthians 4:7

Once you believe in Me, I come to live My life in you. One of My favorite thing is getting to live in lots of different kinds of people. Then the world sees Me in an amazing variety of human packages: large, small, young, old, tall, short, educated, and uneducated. It's out a rich, delicious liquid into an assortment of different containers; clay pots, plastic glasses, crystal, pitchers, and pottery mugs. They are all filled with the same stuff-- My Spirit but each one is unique.

Some of my container evenhave a few holes and cracks. But I love My crackpots, too! They allow My Spirit to leak out on all the people around them! Let Me fill you up to overflowing. 

When you buy a nice piece of jewelry. It is often tucked into a setting of black or dark colored velvet. I think it's designed that way so that your attention is immediately drawn to the beauty of the jewelry, if the packaging were highly decorated. It would complete with the beauty of the treasure.

         It remind me of Paul's comments about the ministry of Jesus through us, when he said, "we have this treasure in Jars of clay" (2Cor. 4:7). It's easy to forget that we are the packaging and His work is the meadure. So we adorn our jars of clay. Taking credit for the things we do to serve Christ. We seek

to bring glory to ourselves when we've forgiven someone, or shown mercy, or given generously. The problem is, when we start seeking affirmation and praise for good deeds, we  compete with the brilliance of the treasure of God working through us.

        When we do things for Christ, it's not about us but about His glory. The less obvious we are the more brilli t He bevomes. Which is why, Paul says the treasure has been put in jars of clay so that God would be the one to be glorified. Besides, since we are jars of clay sigmificant? It's what's inside that counts

"LETTER IN THE RED INK"

"You are an epistle of christ. . . Written not with ink but by the spirit of the living God, not on tablet of stone but on tablets of flesh,that is, of heart"

2 Corinthians 3:3(KJV) 

   As a child, I loved it when my mom read to me. I would sit on her lap and listen to every word. As she read. I examined the details of every picture and waited eagerly go hear what was on the next page. Have you ever thought about the idea that our lives tell a story? In every situation good, bad, or indifferrent people around us are watching and listening to the story we are telling. Our story is communicated not only through our words but also through our attitudes and action as we respond to life' bufferings and blessing our children and grandchildren, spouses, neighbors and coworkers can all observe the story we're telling.

   Paul reminds us that as followers of Jesus, our lives are like letters "known and read by all men. . . an epistle of Christ...Written not with ink but by the spirit of the living God.

(2Cor.3:2-3). What is the story that those around us are reading through the letter of our lives? Stories of forgiveness? Compassion? Generosity? Patience? Love? If you experience the joy of a grace-filled life that comes from the Spirit of God in you. Then welcome to the joy of being one of God's Love His compassion He reveal to us! Letters in the red ink!

"GIVE IT TO THE LORD"

       "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that 

        build it; except the Lord keep the city, the watchman 

        waked but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early to 

        sit up late, to  eat the bread of sorrows; for so he 

        giveth his beloved sleep.                         Psalm 127: 1-2

        In some parts of the world, where storms are terrible and regular, people build their houses out of bamboo and paper. Every year or so, storms wipe out everything. Because the people realize their houses are just going to get knocked down, they dont waste their time and effort trying to build strong houses. This is smart. Give it to the Lord! He care!

  You can't build a strong, successful life all on your own. Apart from Me, you'll work to make your life look good, but something will always come along to knock it down. I am the only One with enough power and wisdom to build a life that will withstand the storms.

So get smart. Forget your own plans. Let Me show you My plans and help you build a strong, successful. My work lasts. 

       Sleep is essential for good health. Scientists don't know exactly why we need it but they know what happens when we don't get enough. We put ourselves at risk of premature aging weight gain, and disease ranging from colds and flu to cancer. What God accomplishes in our bodies while we drift off to dreamland is nothing short of miraculous. While we do nothing. God replenishes our energy, rebuilds and restores our cells, and reorganizes information in our brains.

       The reason for not getting enough sleep are many, and some we can't solve. But the Bible indicates that overwork should not be one of them (Psam 127:2). Sleep is a gift from God that we should receive with gratitude. If we're not getting enough. We need to find out why? Are we rising early and staying up late to earn money to acquire things we don't need? Are we involved in ministry efforts that we think no one else is capable of doing?

       I'm sometimes tempted to believe that the work I do when I'm awake is more important than the work God does while I sleep. But refusing God's gift of sleep is like telling that my work is more important than His.

       God does not want anyone to be a slave to work. He wants to enjoy His gift of sleep. So give it to the Lord and sleep.