The great debate in modern society is the existence of God. This debate goes back almost as far as does man. However, despite the best arguments against the existence of God, there are moments which happen in our world that only point in one direction - God. Try as they may to rid society of him, the Creator is neither leaving nor changing; so daily he goes about HIS business totally ignoring the folly of man. It really comes down to one of those “missing the forest for the trees” things. Many get so technical in their attempts to remove God that they miss the very acts of God, which are visible virtually everywhere you look. God is busy at work seeking the attention of man, and man is busy at work seeking to ignore God - what a paradox. For those who look for God, we see His work everywhere. In the little child who emerged without a scratch from the airplane crash that killed everyone else on board. As story after story is told, if you listen hard and with your eyes open you will always see God working reminding man that He is here, and that He loves him and wants to save him. There are no coincidences; these are actually God moments.
Father, I pray we all will open our eyes so that we will see You. Blessings! Lamar When Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” in the Sermon on the Mount, He called His followers to the high ground of peace. I call this high ground because peace is not always the preferred ground, but it is always the holy ground. The peace living in us is from God, and it, like the other manifestations of the Fruit of the Spirit, is regarded as another identifier of the people of God.
The challenge of peace is often our stubborn wills, egos and pride. To the world, the position of peace is seen as weak, however in the face of anger and hostility, peace is much stronger. Anyone can lose their cool and express their anger, but it takes great fortified spiritual strength to walk the way of peace in the presence of hostility. One of the most beautiful demonstrations of this peace was the actions of Jesus, beginning in the garden, all the way to the cross. In every moment, he powerfully displayed a peace beyond all normal human understanding. The apostle Paul further clarifies our walk, when he wrote these words (Romans 12:18), ”If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Understanding peace is not always possible within the other person, he says, “as far as it depends on you,” live at peace with everyone. This week, seek peace. Speak peace. Establish peace. Allow peace to live in your heart and be in peace. Blessings! Lamar As a Christian, I have sat in my corner of the world in silence about as long as I possibly can. At a time in our society when many are seeking to determine “what matters,” and marching to many different drums, I feel they are still missing the mark - by a mile. I agree everyone needs to be respected in society, whether it is a person who performs a job or a person who is just attempting to live. No one is questioning the validity of these claims, but my question remains - is that REALLY what matters? I say absolutely not! Satan has blinded the mind of mankind in such a great way that instead of focusing on THE important thing that matters; man continues to ignore the BIG question that makes all the difference in the world (and beyond). To leave God out of the conversation of life, is the same as majoring in minors, sweating the small stuff, knowing it all is small stuff - call it what you will. And that is where we come in. God is depending on those who have given their lives to Jesus Christ to stand up and stand out and let all know, ETERNITY IS WHAT MATTERS. Our mission is great, our message is greater. God has spoken. Where one spends eternity is really what matters. We must let them know.
Blessings! Lamar With so much happening in the world, it seems we are always surprised by the next thing. The next shooting, the next aggression of one country to another. The next low America finds a way to sink to. The next natural disaster that shows up on the horizon and leaves a path of destruction in its wake. As the world struggles to gasp for air as these moments occur, there is a voice reminding us these things will take place. That voice is found in Matthew 24:6-13:
“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” These words of Jesus, spoken over two thousand years ago, provide a stinging truth of our reality. These things must be. And so, the next time someone speaks to you of these catastrophic events, show them these words in the Bible, and tell them of the One who spoke them. Blessings! Lamar |
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