No Pain, No Gain

I am familiar with the verse of 'No Pain, No Gain'. Having been an athlete in my youth, one of the sports I played was hockey. There was a new season, a new beginning every year. Often, I was out of shape. But it was a goal of being physically fit to achieve my best. And that meant being pushed by our coach to get us into shape. The body muscles get tested and begin to hurt- must I say it hurt a lot! My teammates and I would be pushed to the limits of our bodies. After several weeks of pain, our body would begin to build and strengthen muscle. After a while, the pain would go away. Hence the phrase- 'No Pain, No Gain'. You don't gain any muscle or strength with out enduring the phase of the muscles go through. 

God also puts us through pain. I go through pain- manifested by the enemy in my thoughts. I get put down, demoralized, betrayed by my thoughts. I begin to even want to despise life and God.

But... I believe God is putting me through a trial, continuing to strengthen me to focus on Lord through every trial. It has taken me a while to realize to look to the Lord. I may have not read my daily devotional.

A devotional is essential!!! It is a portal of which God uses to speak to me. He may show you, in the devotional, what or why you are going through at the moment.

God puts us through pain to gain. To gain what or how He wants to build you up. To strengthen you in the area where you need it.

No matter what happens in your life, look to the Lord !!! He wants us to DEPEND ON HIM !!! 

Patiently waiting, but with faith?

How hard is it for me to trust in God, to be my provider. To provide a job for me. Thoughts constantly come into my mind that my job history is a detriment to my prospective employer. 

It just is very hard looking for work. I think that there are jobs available, but I haven't even gotten an interview.

It is humanly hard and demoralizing, waiting for an employment opportunity. Then I think if I have enough faith in myself to wait for God. I think that He could be testing my patience in Him.

These are just mere thoughts, and I thought that I would just jot them down. I love my God and I look forward to the day that I can glorify Him.

Am I listening???

If I keep on telling myself, I am bound to listen.

God is in control of my trials. He is testing me. 

If I begin to realize that He is putting me through trials, He must be trying to teach me... how to identify trials, how to listen to Him. The Holy Spirit will point us to the Lord, we must surrender OUR THOUGHTS, for our ways are not His ways. He will be with us through the valley and He will bring us though it.

This is fun actually!

Funny how I can remember God's scriptures when needed! Am I listening???

Job and Peter Pickett

I have read the book of Job. I read it because I came across some scripture that interested me in his life. In my life, I lost everything also. I lost my wife, partially my children, endured the pain and confusion of why daddy wasn't at home. I lost my home. I was stricken with depression that would not allow me to work.

Wow.

Let me continue. As I have written before, God is thriving in my life and I can't comprehend how He did it! Do I care? All I know is that after all the calling out for the Lord's help, I received it. I lived with my parents for several week, NOW I am reconciled with my wife. I used to live w/out my wife because she worked nights, so the children and I would be w/out her presence, NOW she just completed her first week on her new job during the day. There was a house guest that was staying in Palmer for the school year that was not easy to deal with, NOW that guest is gone. My children only could be with one parent, NOW they have full-time access to both of us in our family. I used to be depressed. NOW I am revived. 

What happened in Jobs life was amazing. Gods multiplied his life, more that what he had. He prospered because he valued God's favor for Him and because of his faith. 

What a tough trial I have endured. Life isn't easy. The world is ruled by the Prince of the earth, but he can only do what the Lord allows him to do. God seems to always get the last word.

Compromising my faith

God deserves our respect.

How do we, as parents, not appreciate when our kids show disrespect? We don't appreciate that at all and should not tolerate it, right? How do we monitor our own respect for others?

I had the opportunity to get upset @ God and felt like sinning. I didn't get my way and thought that I would tell God that I could sin against Him. What type of respect was I going to exemplify? I was gonna compromise my faith and scrap everything that I had invested. Then I thought of all the hard work that I put in and what I was actually considering.

God can do some amazing things. Prayers sometimes don't get answered, but God is still in control. I was praying for Grace, who is sick, and she ended up throwing up- she wanted me to pray for her.

As I meditated on the actions I wanted to do, I thought- what else could God be telling me about this situation. I have had a history of throwing a "tantrum" when I didn't get my way w/ God.

I thought I didn't need God- but I had been there before, living is despair. When I wasn't thriving in God, I wish I was. Then I thought about my devotion to Him and how important it is to me. I have been in this place before, calling out against God, and I need to treat Him with respect- as opposed to disrespect. Its one or the other! 

I think God was- Noooo, I KNOW God was testing my loyalty to Him. I chose not to sin and hold steadfast in my faith. I could not throw away all my hard work and dedication that I have put in my relationship w/ the Lord.

Who I am in Christ

I belong to God. My Lord calls me friend. I thank Him for my trials. I am in His favor. I am weak- therefore I am blessed- because I rely on Jesus to help me. I submit in prayer all my needs. I do not worry about tomorrow. My Lord is my provider. He is here amongst us! I take time to recognize His presence. I talk to Him. He talks to me. He loves me and I love Him. I am here to serve Him. I am not of this world, but only here for a short while. I claim the blood of Jesus. I claim the name of Jesus. Through Christ I can do all things.

Lord God, I pray that you change me for Your will be done. Prune me. I submit myself to be a vessel. I am a carrier of the flame. Fill my cup and let it overflow. Change me, that people will not recognize me. That people would see the face of Jesus instead of mine. That you would expand my territory. That I would be a bold witness and servant to thee. That You would reach others through me. 

Amen.

"I forgive you for what you have done to me."

"I forgive you for what you have done to me." This is what we should say to those who trespass us. Although it appears to be a nearly impossible thing to do, it is worth meditating on. Due to the fact that it is unnatural for us to forgive immediately, we must learn to do so. The Lord says that if we cannot forgive those that cause wrong against us, then He cannot forgive us. So, it is very important to learn and understand what it MEANS to forgive. 

Here is the concept. How do I let someone get off scott-free and tell them that you forgive them? I recall learning not to judge people because the Lord is the one that will judge. There are consequences for all sin, and ultimately, God is the only one to dish out the consequences. We cannot boast about ones consequences either. God knows what has happened and that He will deal with it in His perfect timing. 

How do I go about forgiving someone and simply say "I forgive you". Can I do it? I think this something that will take some practice and prayer. I certainly have my conflicts with other people that still needs some dealing with. How do I deal with that situation in a forgiving way, but still address their actions. 

Sometimes we feel like we have been taken advantage of and turn to our protective side and hold a grudge. I am guilty of this- I think. (In my situation, as a parent, there are rules that we set that we feel that are important. Some of those rules that I have placed have been compromised and have not been addressed. So, I think my grudge is that I have not dealt with the situation that needs correction).

I am certainly not exempt from God's consequences either, nor anyone one the face of the planet- or space. For this matter, I fear my Lord-God for all of my wrong doings, knowing that I have disobeyed His commands. I just cannot let my sins go untethered and let them go, I must deal with them. God will remind you of all your sins, at that time, I must repent and ask for forgiveness- don't let it slip by, ask for forgiveness when it comes to your mind.

We are designed to be sinners. And we will sin tomorrow. We sin without really knowing it. In the old testament, the penalty for sin was death. Jesus came to be our SAVIOR from death. Jesus came and He suffered and experienced all temptations and NEVER SINNED! He conquered all of Satan's fiery darts. And He conquered death, He was risen after three days in His grave. The enemy is here for a purpose as well, according to God's plan. Satan's plan is to destroy, to steal, to divert our relationship w/ our Lord. But when Christ died on the cross and was risen, we can submit our sins to Him because he conquered them all. We can ask for forgiveness and repent and be cleansed through the blood of Jesus Christ- for He paid for all sins through His blood that was shed.

Forgiving is an essential part in our Faith. We must learn to forgive, knowing that God will deal with what is wrong. Can I simply not accept the what the enemy is telling me in the name of Jesus??? YES! Can I object to the trespasses against me in the name of Jesus??? I think that is what we need to do. This will need more meditation and prayer.

... Christ is OK.

I can't help but to feel like I can share my faith, hopefully I am doing it with boldness, with genuine Love and gentleness. To wear my faith on my sleave. I have the feeling that I would like people to see that a relationship w/ Christ is OK. That this weak person is getting by with a little help from above.

Practice makes perfect

Practice makes perfect. Isn't that always what we hear from our parents when we are trying something new and at first we struggle at whatever it is we are trying to do. Even though we may not achieve perfection, we try and learn from our mistakes and from that we improve on our task at hand.

When I joined youth hockey, we got together several times a week to hone our skills. We practiced our skating, stick handling, our slap-shot. At the beginning, we were not very unified. We got to know each other more and more as the season went by. We listened to our coach and tried to do what he wanted us to do. In games, we took what we learned in practice and applied it to the games. There was success and failures. When we got penalized, we went to what can be referred to the "sin bin". When we went to the sin bin, our team would skate with one less player on the ice- we were short handed, leaving our teammates to fend for them selves. WHILE in the sin bin, you sit there with some shame in front of everyone for two minutes- sometimes longer depending on your penalty. Upon the passing of the two minutes, you anxiously wait to get out on the ice and hustle back to help your team and continue the match.

Being a christian is not easy. The more we get to know Christ, the tougher the enemy get as well. We are to pick up our cross and follow Him. Meaning that, we too, will suffer, endure tough challenges. We cannot do this on our own. I am weak, a failure in many aspects, a slow thinker... but I am blessed because I rely on Jesus to help me achieve my goals. Christ wants us to rely on Him for EVERYTHING. I am merely a co-pilot, and I rely on the pilot to direct where I go. I suffer, but Christ is there to carry much of the burden, to help me carry my cross everywhere I go.

Prayer IS essential to living and existing here on earth. To live according to the word requires prayer. We need to submit our needs in prayer and supplication to the Lord. We can often take for granted all that is around us, all of what God is doing. He is around us. If you try and hide, He is... hiding with you. God is here. God is there. God makes the clouds. Try looking at life through God's perspective and acknowledge what He is doing in this world. Often people complain about the weather, but this is the day that the Lord has made. Praise Him for beautiful weather, for wonderful sunsets. 

I always wondered why I was and accomplished hockey player, why me? Why was I good? But, always thankful for playing a great sport, I realize that it was for God's glory. God can use my past for His glory so I can tell stories or scenarios of what I went through.

Testing of my Faith

Testing of my Faith 

Seems like I am being tested. A test that has no power to pass my Shield of Faith. As my Shield is deflecting the fiery darts of the enemy, I do realize that they are attempts to compromise my relationship w/ my Lord. 

But I am different this time. Here are the following trials that are tempting me:

 -Adultery- why not do it myself?

 -My aching back

 -Itches

 -Anger

These things are meant to disrupt my relationship w/ Jesus. But, I can see before me, what is happening and how I react to them. But I hold fast and think of What Would Jesus Do?

I explained to my wife that when I identify a problem, I am now thinking of productive ways to handle the situation @ hand. Rather than reacting the way that I used to.

We are to become more like Christ. How we handle certain problems that arise. We need to act w/ gentleness. We are to become w/out faults, iniquity, living accordingly to the example of how Jesus lived here.

I am different this time

I am different this time 

I am different this time (let me soak this in a while).

I am different, w/ more patience, maybe more understanding (not sure of what at this time), but I am different. 

Something inside of me is more solidified, more solidified in Christ.

Where do I stand on ... what used to be earthly desires, revenge, wanting to strike back for the wrong that has been caused. I find myself praying for my enemies!!!

God is tethering to me is some way. As if I am going to... like my cup is about to over flow. When I spend quiet time w/ Him, like now, it seems like He is building me up inside and that maybe I will super-nova at His perfect timing.

Todays devotional means so much to me, knowing how God is guiding me along.

Living By Faith (Charles Stanley's Daily Devotional)

READ | Romans 1:16-17

In Scripture, we read that strong faith is essential for facing life’s uncertainties. It prompts us to look beyond our trials to the One who’s promised to guide and sustain us.

As trust in the Lord increases, obedience becomes a higher priority than pleasure or profit. Moses’ life illustrates this—he chose to forsake the advantage of Egyptian royalty in order to be identified with God’s people. Placing his future in the Almighty’s hands, he became the Israelites’ leader and gave precedence to the Lord’s interests over his own.

As devotion deepens, a second outcome is spiritual discernment—believers develop an ability to look beyond the external appearance to see things as God does. The attractiveness of sin will decrease, and its offer of satisfaction will be recognized as false. At the same time, eternal matters will become more valuable to us. Moses left his livelihood of 40 years to become God’s appointed leader. Pursuing the Lord’s plan became more important than anything else in his life. Despite his misgivings and sense of inadequacy, he placed trust in his heavenly Father.

Finally, a growing faith will not permit misunderstandings and criticisms to deter us from pursuing God’s plan. The Hebrew slaves didn’t make it easy for Moses to lead, but his beliefs enabled him to move forward.

The Hebrew leader’s faith became the defining quality of his life. The Lord wants the same to be true of you. By trusting God deeply, you, like Moses, will be able to meet each day’s challenges with courage and determination.

Trusting in Faith

Trusting in Faith

Do I have as much faith in God as I used to? I don't know. But, I yield to Him. I yield to Him because he has promise for me. He is in favor of me. He is in favor of being my provider. Providing me MY life. Providing restoration of what satan has destroyed. In my situation, things happen for His glory. I yielded even though my earthly thoughts seen it as IMPOSSIBLE. Before me was a mountain that impassable. I seen no way that it could be fixed. My only hope was in God. I see signs around town that say nothing is impossible to God.

I often wondered how can I fix my family relationship. I was with out understanding, quick to anger, to defend, to take hold of my pride that has conditioned me by life. God opened my eyes. I gained and seen His hope that He had in me. This came from a guy that despised God.Though I knew that I was wrong, did I humble myself to succumb to His grace?

It was impossible for me to fix my situation. So I prayed, people also prayed for me. "Don't fight these hands that are holding you"- This comes from a song that I recently heard. God carries us when we trust Him. I succumbed to His plan, His will, that He has for me. So I let God take over and asked Him to fix my life. 

I will live and stay in the word and He will make my path for me. Often, I go through trials. Then read my devotional to scripture and my answer is right there! God is making my path and then showing me what I have learned and how to deal with what I went through. What He does with all of us who humble ourselves before Him is He is pruning us. Pruning our branches much like a gardner does. Cuts off the week limbs so the other limbs can grow stronger. 

It can be hard to wait for God. People often wonder what the heck am I waiting for. But I have not told them that I am waiting for God to move for me. He tells us not to worry about tomorrow and that He will provide for us.

I love my Lord and Savior so much. I wish I could feel Him myself. But there will be a day when that comes for we are only here for a short while. We won't have to deal with Satan's fiery darts. No more pain.

But to get back to what I am intending to write about, is to trust everything in your life to God. Read your devotional. If you are feeling down, read the bible. God will bring light into you darkness. Look to God in every situation because there is a reason why your are going through this (what ever it is), and He will reveal the answer to you.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for your wisdom and understanding in showing me what you can do in ones life. I pray that more people get chosen and that you would use them to be a witness for You. I praise you and trust you to restore what was taken down. For what ever is taken down by the enemy will be restored to be stronger and never waiver again. Amen.