Sheep

I learned something very interesting I didn’t know before while visiting a friend’s Church in Dallas this past Sunday.  The message was a good one and I really enjoyed it.

The scripture had come from Psalm 23 and the preacher was breaking down the verses. When he started to discuss the sheep, he made an interesting comment on how we(Humans) are like sheep and how scripture refers to us as such. Point is that we are like sheep and sheep are stupid by nature. What does that say about us? I thought that was pretty funny.  One scripture states that we are like sheep and have gone astray. He also elaborated on how the shepherd handles his flock with his staff.  He goes on to state that when a sheep wanders off that the shepherd will go after the sheep and break one of its legs and then wrap up the leg so it will heal and then hang the sheep around his neck until the sheep is healed and then the sheep returns to the flock, never to wander again. WOW, I didn’t know that and what an amazing course of action that is.

I feel like when we have tough times and troubles that maybe it’s those times when God has broken one of our legs in order to get us back on the right path with Him.  What should we expect? That life should be easy and to never go through trials and difficulties? What good would that do for us? How would we be better as a people if we didn’t go through hard times? We wouldn’t would we. Hey growing pains are hard. I can recall growing up and feeling pain in my legs because I was growing. I was Ok with it because I knew that I would be growing taller and in order to do so, I had to deal with some pain. Such is life.

So, remember, the next time your going through hard times or are going through hard times now, that this soon shall pass and that it is for the better ultimately because our God cares for us like a shepherd loves his sheep.

Yea, though I walk through the valley…you God are always with me.

Read 1 Peter

Suffering

8 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

 9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”  – Job 1:8-10

I was led by the Holy Spirit to write on the subject of suffering and on why ‘bad things happen to good people.’  I was recently questioned by a friend about it and now this article has brought it to light once more.  Read the article here.  This man’s personal story is powerful and hits home.

You must read the entire book of Job to really understand what goes on.  It’s a good read, but will take a good sitting to get through it.  Ultimately, everyone in Job’s life turns on him.  He is plagued and cursed it seems by God(not true) but seems that way to us humans.  He loses his whole family and money and everything that matters to him, yet he is still found blameless in God’s sight.  He even says, “Naked I come from my mother’s womb and naked I shall return, Blessed be the name of the Lord!”  Even his own wife says, curse God and die!  God ultimately blesses Job, 10 and a 100 fold with more than he ever had.  OK, so this won’t happen to everyone in both extremes that the book takes you in(whether in curses or pain or in blessings-spiritual/physical/monetary)

To make things abundantly clear, SIN is in this world and will ever be until Jesus returns from Heaven, PERIOD!

What does that mean for you and me?  Well, my friends, we will cry, hurt, feel pain and grief and strife and ultimately physically die one day.  Are you shocked and surprised yet?  Yeah, I didn’t think so.  So now your asking, get to your point…what are you saying Sam???

Good question?!?!  OK, Job suffered and so will we.  Good things happen to bad people too!  Shocked again?  I didn’t think so.  But your asking, if good things happen to bad people, then what’s the difference if bad things happen to good people?  Great question again.  The fact is, the sun and the rain fall on both the good and the bad correct?  Same with blessings and curses.  If your blessed monetarily, for example, and you have a family member that is bad, but needs help financially, would you help them?  Maybe yes or maybe no, but the option is there for you to bless and thus this person could receive some of your blessings.  Same way when say, like the earthquake in Haiti hit, did it strike the believer and non-believer alike?  Of course it did, does that mean that the believer shouldn’t experience the struggle that the non-believer did just because they are a believer?  Didn’t think so.  So do bad things happen to good people?  Yes! 

Are we all human and share in this world the natural disasters or the break-down of our bodies?  Yes!  My ex-wife got cancer at 29!!  29!!!  Is that fair?  Is that right?  She is a believer, so does that exclude her from the ‘bad things?’ NOPE!  Did I suffer through it with her?  Yes. 

There are a million reasons for things that happen and there is no perfect answer to why these things happen, fact!  They do happen though and it’s our job to support, pray, help, guide and love through it!  I have had my share of problems in my life, believe me!!!  But through it all, God is good and has always been there for me, even when I didn’t know it or realize it!

Horrible things happen to all kinds of people, good and bad alike.  That’s the way it is. The GOOD NEWS and question is this.  When you die, where are you going?  Do you believe in Jesus?  We are all gonna die one day sooner or later and our souls will need a place to live. 

I’m sorry if you have experienced tragedy.  I’m sorry if a Christian has wronged you in the past.  Please don’t let life’s troubles stop you from believing in a Father that truly loves you, the God of all comfort, who wants a special relationship with you and who knows everything about you and a Father who welcomes you into His home.

Blessings!

close calls

Close calls: It is unavoidable that we will all die — unless we are first raptured. Death is a reality that we know will claim us one day. But, like so many other things, we dismiss the thoughts of its arrival, until it comes a little to close for comfort.
Sometimes we experience unexpected illnesses or accidents that abruptly force us to face God, our mortality, and our future. This can be a very good thing, especially if you are not a believer. But, what if you are a believer? What then? If you suddenly woke up in an intensive care unit and you didn’t know if you were going to make it or not, what would you be thinking about regarding your life and God? It is hard to say unless you are actually there, but the longer that you live, the more that scenario either has been a reality or will be one.
Since we will all face death one day, why wait to think about the meaning of your life until you are forced to? Why wait to talk to God about what is really in you, about what you really feel, really doubt, really believe? Close calls can be good for the soul. God can use them to cause us to face ourselves and Him. Close calls can wake us up and help us sort out our priorities.
Sometimes, when life is comfortable and predictable, we let our priorities slip because we take our eyes off of the Lord and put them onto our lives and even on our ability to get things done. I can’t help but wonder if God doesn’t use sickness and misfortune in the world to cause us to re-evaluate ourselves before Him. After all, don’t we need to do that from time to time even if we don’t think we need it? Don’t we need to see if we are growing closer to the Lord or not?
I think that it can be quite merciful that God would allow us to undergo hardship since such hardship can bring us closer to Him — if we allow the opportunity to do that. Personally, I am thankful for close calls. Of course, I don’t enjoy them, but they can be quite helpful by scraping away all of our self reliance and exposing ourselves before God.
So what about you? Do you need a close call to get you thinking? Do you need a drastic wake up call from God to get you to reconsider your life with Him? Maybe, maybe not. But, why don’t you just sit down and talk to God. Why not take a survey of your spiritual life and see where you are at with the Lord? Open the Word of God, read, and pray. Talk to Him. He is always there to listen, close calls or not

James 1:2-4,
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing”

From “verse of the week” circa 2002

 

 

faith

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, certain of what we do not see”  Hebrews 11:1

There are a ton of scripture references that relate to ‘Faith’, but this one is my favorite.  The hope it gives me personally is mind-blowing.  I have pondered and meditated on this verse for years now.  This will be my actual first time writing this down though.  rabbit trail:  this is why I love blogging so much.  I am able to share these thoughts that are in my head and on my heart with all of you.  What a privilege!

Anyway, I recall Jesus’ words that if we have the faith of a mustard seed that we could move mountains.  The art of Faith though is ‘practicing’ it.  You can’t say you have ‘Faith’, but never go after your dreams.  You can’t say you have faith, but never attempt to become and aspire something more or better than you are. 

Another important thought is in the book of James.  “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also”  James 2:26  For me, this means exactly what I am describing above.  Faith in action is what builds your faith up, makes it stronger and produces a healthy crop for times in your life when you will need it. 

Not everything is visible to us through our eyes or finite mind.  There is a lot that is unseen.  That’s called Faith.   You know that term ‘intangible’, it’s like that.  There are the intangibles in life that each of us have, but if we never tap into it and make ourselves stand out or different, those intangibles will go unseen or unnoticed.   

I feel that when we press forward through tough times in our lives, that’s where we see the faith building steam in our lives.  That’s where the ‘reserves’ build up as well for times of struggle.  It’s easy to go through life without trials and tribulations.  But, what good is that for you when the tough times come and you have no faith to use or experience to help you through?  It’s in the hard times that we place our Faith in Christ to give us the strength to get through, even when we think we can’t.  He will not fail us, for He promised “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you” Hebrews 13:5

Be Blessed!