A hopeful Christian

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Showing posts from July, 2024

God is greater than man.

“Behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you, for God is greater than man. Job 33:12 Today, I read the verse from Job in my devotional and didn't think too much of it. But I quickly realized that it is something to keep in mind. I got an update about a situation and as the person was sharing to commit everything to prayer, I remembered this verse at some point. It made me realize that whatever another person is doing, God is greater than any man. His power is absolutely great and he can do all things. While I didn't think much of the verse in the morning, It's become an even greater reminder as the day is ending that God is greater than man. He can overcome anyone. And so when men rise up against us, it is important to submit it to God and let him fight our battles for the truth is: God is greater than man.

Another side of The One thing

Now there is a situation where the one thing we lack is the very one thing we need above all else. Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Mark 10:21 (NIV) I wrote about The One Thing the other day. That was primarily focused on my pursuit of one trivial item that day that would've ended in a big fiasco but God was there to help me. The other side of this lies this interaction between Jesus and this man who approached him in Mark 10:17. He had done everything such as keeping the commandments and it sounds like he had some wealth also. In his case, he had earthly wealth or treasure but he wanted to know how to inherit eternal life. It sounds like he realized he didn't have the latter. No? As we can see from the verse Jesus tells him to do two things. Go, sell everything he has and give to the poor Then, come follow him (...

The One Thing

I had gotten some work done today, one I was especially excited about only to have it erased just minutes after. I wasn't happy about that. I was talking to a friend later and said shared what had happened. My friend pointed out that prior to this, everything had been going well and something along the lines of focusing on it. And indeed, things had gone well. I had accomplished a few things in the morning and was now dealing with a minor setback. But here I was, focused on it. I thank God I made that call because I refocused and got a lot more than today than I had planned. In the course of the conversation, Adam and Eve came to mind. They had all these trees in the garden and the one they desired was the one tree they weren't supposed to have? Are we any different? Do we tend to focus on the one thing ? Whether it's the one thing we don't have or the one thing that has gone awry when we have lots of things and many things have gone right, save for this on...

The Power of Choice

So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men, died in the same day. 1 Samuel 31:6 In reading this last chapter of the 1 Samuel, I was sad in a way for Saul's sons, especially Jonathan. I think, subconsciously at least, maybe it had to be this way for David to ascend the throne. And as I read about Saul begging his armor-bearer to kill him (who refused) and falling on his own sword, I felt a mix of sadness and pity for him as I thought: He could've chosen to obey God He could've chosen to not kill the priests, He could've chosen to live in a manner that pleased God. Yet, He didn't. The power of choice. We have the power to choose what we do in this life but we need to remember that the LORD is; He sees and rewards/repay. We can choose to do whatever we want to do. Although some choices may not be beneficial while others would be. Let us choose to love and obey God. And to do what is good and right. The LORD works out everythin...

You have the right to say No.

I saw part of a show today: Murder, She Wrote . A man comes down the balcony of her hotel room as she appears to be going to bed. He gestures for her to open and she lets him in. A part of a conversation went like this: Dennis Stanton: would you care to offer me a nightcap? Jessica: No, no. And even if I did, I wouldn't. Dennis Stanton: ...if people should knock, would you care to say I've been here for the last 30 minutes or so? Jessica: No, I would certainly not do that. I thought: This is a person who says no again and again with such authority and confidence and without an apology. She's not ashamed to say no or refuse a request. She didn't have to let them down easy or feel bad for saying no. You have the right to say "No", period. No ifs, ands or buts. In this case, she didn't know the man. She had only met him prior at an event and danced with him. Here he comes down her balcony asking for favors. And the thing is that he had the audacity to ...

You can't handle the truth (Discretion)

While reading 1 Samuel 20 not long ago, I thought it was interesting what David told Jonathan to tell his father, King Saul. So David said, "Look, tomorrow is the New Moon festival, and I am supposed to dine with the king; but let me go and hide in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. If your father misses me at all, tell him, `David earnestly asked my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.' If he says, `Very well,' then your servant is safe. But if he loses his temper, you can be sure that he is determined to harm me. 1 Samuel 20:5-7 NIV As I read this, it dawned on me that David used Discernment in making wise judgment and acted with discretion. Further in 1 Samuel 25, we have the situation of Nabal. While David was in the desert, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep. So he sent ten young men and said to them, "Go up to Nabal at Carmel and greet him in my name. Say to...

God is greater than man.

Who is the Lord of your life?

I realize people get heated up in politics for whatever reasons they choose. But as Christians, we are ambassadors of Christ and our behavior in every situation should reflect Christ. Resorting to name calling as others do doesn't reflect well on us. And in some cases, "others" are actually not name-calling; it is those who call themselves "christians" that are doing it. I know that man was given the power of choice. Eve had the power of choice and she exercised it. And so did Adam. Now, we all know how their choices affected us but they chose nevertheless. Adam, was influenced by his wife. Who in turn was influenced by the serpent. The problem is that Adam couldn't shift the blame to his wife and be absolved of any responsibility in what he did. Neither could Eve shift the responsibility to the serpent and be guiltless. They were all punished. Image: https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.111718.html The woman made me do it didn't work. Neithe...

Moving forward

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV In the time since the last post, I laid my mom to rest. It's been an interesting summer. Thank God for his mercy and for holding me and carrying me through it all safely. I am grateful to God for the wisdom given me and the strength given me. As I prepare to post a part of the first chapter of Job, I recall listening to Laura Story's "Bless the LORD" when this happened. Anyway... ... The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." Job 1:21 NIV

And forget not all His benefits

The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. Psalm 103:6 (NIV) I've been wanting to write a blog for sometime now. I've kept pushing it back although I was determined to do it this month. Except I had the unexpected happen and so I pushed it back. Last night, I found myself signing up for blogger under this account and starting the process. And I had not planned on doing so, neither had I purposed to do it yesterday. I spent the day cleaning up a bit and doing laundry. I also hadn't planned on writing a post today. However, I just thought why not? Psalm 103 is a Psalm I read weekly. It's something I started this year. Today, I took extra notice of verse 6. It reminded me of parts of Psalm 9. The LORD does not forget the afflicted. The Lord is known by the judgment He executes; The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Psalm 9:14 (NKJV ) I think that sometimes when things are going on around us, we tend to forget as Chris...