Smiling with God...

“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” Proverbs 27:12 “Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever and a crown is not secure for all generations.” Proverbs 27:23-24 These verses above make you evaluate what you are doing and then it just hits you at the core. As there are rules to physical things in life, there are rules to the spiritual things in life also. Here we are not to overlook the importance of awareness. Prudent people see the danger in advance and take action; prudence also sees the importance of knowing where you are in your life situation. Prudence in this definition means one who is sensible, shrewd. So the along with prudence comes wisdom. They go hand in hand. In these verses it stresses that those who are aware of their surrounding situation have the ability to see when they are headed in the wrong direction. When the are aware ...

But Paul said to them, “They beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” Acts 16:37 Paul could have gone away quietly, but he chose not to. Here he makes a stand. He was beaten publicly, literally for no other reason then spreading the Good News. Falsely accused and made to look guilty, the authorities here just wanted to sweep him and his companions under the rug. However, Paul had different plans. He chose to make a stand, a stand that would not only clear his name but also clear the conscience of the people. He knew that he was a missionary in a place that was not welcoming to them. So by doing this he announced to the people that not only was he not guilty of doing any crime, but he also tells that as a Roman citizen, it was okay to believe in Christ. I just can’t get this out of my mind, that here Paul embraces that he will use all that he...

“Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show they make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.” -Jesus (Luke 20:46-47) Do not be deceived. This is the message that Jesus is after. He is saying, what looks good isn’t always good. In this case the teachers of the law has become so engrossed by their own selves they forgot what they were about. The teachers of the law fell in love with power, fame, fortune, all at the expense of God. Their motives were to gain all that the world had to offer. It appears that they forgot what their purpose was. They forgot what God was trying to do. The forgot who they were at the core of themselves and got lost in the things that don’t matter. In short the priest had an identity crisis. The reason they existed was to push...

Okay, after one day I already renamed it, but God Moments seemed more appropriate then saying “miracle”. But God moments can come in the form of a miracle, a lesson, or things situations. Jesus can show up at anytime to teach. Anyhow, I hope you get the point. Moving on... As I recount the lessons in the next few days I am constantly reminded how God stitches together the lives of others all around you. I was bored at one point, I had just finished work and I really did not want to go home to watch a video, or read a book, or even exercise. I wanted to go out and have some fun. One problem, no one I knew shared my desire to go out. But on an whim, or maybe a push from God, I was moved to go to the bookstore. Ah, yes the safe book store where you can read books. I know I said I didn’t want to read, but if I am going to read at least there are people there and you never know who you might bump into. Low and behold, I did. As soon as I got out of my car, as I was making my w...

I was honestly looking for a miracle, but it was difficult, I was in the store trying to find God’s handy work somewhere. So I resorted to what I do well, complain. Boy, I was complaining, but instead of bickering about my life, it morphed to “how the heck am I going to find a miracle.” Then lo and behold, I found it. I think God made it easy for me. But in a little refrigerator at the supermarket, I saw the miracle. In a form of a bottle labeled in white, it read “Pepsi Throwback: Made with Real Sugar”. I just nearly lost it. You know how long I prayed for this?! Literally, this was a miracle. For years I have longed for soda to go back to using sugar. Even though on the label it said “For a limited time.” I didn’t care. Here was the miracle. Real soda using real sugar. I dislike high-fructose corn syrup, with a passion. I longed for years to have soda in the real form, with sugar. So tonight it was going to happen. What a special occasion this night was turning out...

Up until now, this blog has pretty much been my daily devotions. Which has seem to be going well, however, often times during devotions I get called into acton. Today was one of those “action” days. What was supposed to have been a time of reflection and spending time with God, quickly escalated into one of those “woe is me” sessions where I began to express grief over some of my “hardships”, and “misfortunes” (In reality, things are not that hard for me). I began to act like my three year old niece: “How come this...” “Why not that...” “It’s not fair...” To tell you the truth, looking back on it now, it was pretty disgusting. But at that time I didn’t care. I felt cheated out of life and I wanted to let God know about it. This went on for almost an hour. Towards the end of my bickering, as I was shopping at a local food market, God just let me have it. What is cool about God is that He smacks you on the head sometimes and beckons you to do something. This time, through ...

In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. -Genesis 4:3-5 At first glance at this text my initial reaction was, “Why God?” But after rereading it again I began to realize that there are some strong reasons why God did not look upon Cain’s offering as unacceptable. As it appears Cain brought an offering to the Lord, but Abel, brought an offering that was far superior. Abel brought his best to God first. Fat in those days was a precious commodity. So for Abel to bring not only fat, but fat from the first born was an act of total trust to God. Cain brought what appears to be leftovers, or “some” as compared to his brother who brought his best. Besides the lesson of giving God our best, the second less...