Belief

Belief can be a fickle thing can’t it? We can believe we are in love one day and the next, not so much. We can believe that we have everything under control, then the next day feel like we are in control of nothing. We can believe all kinds of things during our lives but how often are we willing to stake our lives on those beliefs? I believe sweet tea is the greatest drink ever made but I am not dumb enough to stake my life to that fact. There is only one belief we can have that we can risk all on and that’s the belief in God. How do we know that we can believe in God though? Simple, the bible tells us so. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. He has already conquered death on our behalf. When we believe in Him and lay our sins out on the table and ask for forgiveness, we are saved. Death is not the end for us anymore, our spirit lives on with God for eternity! I can believe in a lot of things, but only one has the power to save me. What do you believe in? Have you put your faith in the one true God or have you put your faith in something else? It’s never too late. God is always there, ready to come into your lives and change you. Stop believing that you are in control and that you can do it on your own because you can’t. Believe in God and let Him take control of your life today.

Haman's Fall

I was reading the book of Esther the other day and I came by a person that I think we can all relate to. His name was Haman and he was a trusted friend/advisor/confidant to the ruler of the day, King Xerxes. Haman had it all. A huge estate, fine clothes, and the Kings favor. In fact, it was even declared that all should bow in honor when Haman came by. He really had a charmed life by the standards of the day. A funny thing though happened to Haman along the way. He started to believe the hype and got too big for his britches. There was one Jew, a man named Mordecai that would not bow in honor of Haman. This really set him off. “How dare he! Doesn’t he know who I am?” he must have asked himself. Day after day Haman would come by and not once did Mordecai pay him the respect he thought he was due. So, Haman thought that Mordecai had to pay. Not just him though, all Jews needed to pay for this insult. So he went to the king and told him that he had people in his kingdom that did not obey the law of the king. Knowing the king would not stand for this he offered to pay the king to allow him to kill all the people he could find that were of this mind set. The king granted the permission and Haman set his plan in motion. What he did not know was that the Queen, Esther was a Jew herself and that Mordecai was her uncle. Long story short, all Haman’s anger and frustration ended only with his own death on the same pole he had set up so as to kill Mordecai. The lesson of the message today is this. Do not get caught up in yourself. God can bless you and grant you all the wonders of the world if He so desires. He can also take them away in a heartbeat. Haman went from favored in the eyes of the king, to being impaled on his own pole in no time. When you feel disrespected or slighted in some way, do not be quick to action. God is all knowing, He sees what is going on. Trust that whoever is slighting us will be dealt with as He sees fit and on His time. We will never know what will happen when we start off a chain of events. Haman never thought he would fall so far and so fast, neither do we. Don’t get too full of yourself and think that you are something that you are not. God has a way of adjusting you real quick. Just ask Haman.

Nehemiah 6:1-9 – Praying For Strength

Don’t you hate it when you are tying to do something and stuff just seems to get in the way? Seems like whenever I sit down to write or do something I think that’s important something always pops up and tries to pull me away from the task at hand. When that happens it can be hard to stay on task can’t it? Today, I want to tell you about another guy from the bible that was having obstacles thrown in his way when trying to get a job done. We are going to look at Nehemiah Here was a man that was tasked with a huge job to accomplish. He was asked to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. He was not an architect, he was a politician. He had nothing in his background to suggest that he was the best guy for this but he had faith so he went to do the job. When the people around him heard what he was trying to do they mocked him (Nehemiah 4:1-3). When they saw him making progress they sent messengers to distract him with requests to sit down and talk. When he would not meet and talk with them they sent threats and tried to run him off. Nehemiah knew though that he had a task to accomplish. One that God had put on him. He kept his focus and stayed on the task at hand. All that is impressive but verse 9 is the one that I like the most. What did Nehemiah do when faced with all the challenges? Did he run? Did he give up? Did he give in to the distractions? No, he prayed. Not for vengeance or anything against the folks that were trying to get him off the task but he asked for strength to get the job done. How many of us would have that kind of mind? I would have asked for a bull dozer, a crew of 100, and some air conditioning probably. He could have asked for anything from God, but all he wanted was strength to do what God had asked him to do. What are you asking for in your life? Are you asking for understanding of what God wants you to do and strength to do it with? Or are you asking for the desires of your heart? Are you asking for discipline and focus in order to do what God needs you to do? Or are you asking Him for the easy way out? Nehemiah let nothing come between him and the task that he was called to do. I would pray that we all would ask for that same kind of focus in our own life when it comes to doing God’s will.

Going Against The Grain

Pat Tillman was a pro football player. He was a star in the league making millions. By all accounts, he had it made. Then 9/11 happened and we saw the towers fall. That scene impacted us all in some way. Instead of being moved to anger or sadness, Pat was moved to action. He went against the grain and left millions on the table to serve his country as an Army Ranger. His act was not one that many others in his position made. A short time after his decision, Pat was killed in action. He knew the possibilities, he knew what he was giving up, and yet he went anyways. Pat set him self apart from the normal persona of an athlete to follow his heart and protect the country he loved. Just like Pat set himself apart by his actions, we are set apart when we decide to follow God. When we stand up and say “I am going to trust and follow you Lord” we are going against the grain. We are rebelling against the world around us and saying to all that we don’t want to live in darkness anymore. We are refusing to conform to the ideas and practices of the world. We are saying that our old life is gone and that we are new creations through the grace of God and that this new life can be theirs as well. People will not understand. They will make fun of you and question you or tell you that it is just a phase you are going through. They will look for anything they can to show that you are not real in your faith or that your faith is not lasting. It is up to us to guard against that. It is up to us to make sure that we are doing the things we need to do to remain strong in our faith. We need to be in prayer, we need to be in God’s word, and we need to be in fellowship with other believers. We need to be rebels and go against the grain. Do not let fear hold you back, instead let your faith lift you up. Pat Tillman left it all on the table to do what he thought was right. Should we be willing to do any less when it comes to following God?

Joshua 1:9 - Be Strong and Courageous

Joshua 1:9 - Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. We never know for sure what each new day will bring us do we? Tomorrow can be smooth and easy or filled with all types of challenges for us to overcome. That uncertainty can be scary at times. The good news is that we don’t have to worry about it. You see, wherever we go, God is with us! In this passage and the ones preceding it, God is telling Joshua that He is going to fulfill His promise now. He is taking His people into the promised land now and that He will give them everyplace they set their foot. Furthermore He tells them that no one will ever stand against him all of his days, that He will secure this land for them. Now, we do not have those same challenges in our lives that Joshua and his people had to face but they can seem just as daunting in our eyes at times. You could be failing your classes. You might have lost your job. You might be fighting some medical condition like cancer. Regardless of what you are facing though you do not have to worry about facing it alone as long as God is in your life. This verse tells us to face our fears and trials standing strong. We are not to run away and hide from our troubles; we are to take them on. We do not have to be afraid for as long as God is with us, who can stand against us? He has conquered death; do you really think that he can’t handle anything you have to deal with?

Being Religious

When I was younger, I thought of myself as being a religious person. I believed in God and Jesus was a good person. I prayed every night before I went to bed. What I did not understand until later in life was that being religious meant nothing. I have been to churches and seen the same problems. They will sing the old songs and preach about the sins of the world. They tell folks all about the good things they are doing in the community. The problem is that if you show up to service in jeans they look down on you. If you are a woman and do not wear a dress or skirt, you are looked at funny. If you do anything that is not considered acceptable to them, you are treated as an outcast. After all, they are very religious people and they know that they are doing things right. I had to learn that being religious was not as important as having Christ in my life. How could I be saved and call myself a religious person yet still live my life as I always had? I couldn’t. How can a church call themselves religious and look down on people just because of what they are wearing? They can’t. I got news for you; God does not care what you wear to church. He does not care that you know all the songs in the hymnals; all He cares about is what’s in your heart. If He is not in your heart you can be as religious as you want to be and still go to hell when you die. We do not need religion. We need God! Go to church, worship God, do all the things that you normally do. All I am asking you to do is not get caught up in the idea that just because you do all of that, that you are ok. The fact is unless the Spirit is alive and well in you and evident in your daily life, you are not ok. Jesus said in John 14:6 that no one comes to the Father except through Me. You can have all the religion in the world, be the best person in the world but without Jesus you are lost. Don’t be religious, be saved!

Keep on Going

When I was a kid, we moved around a lot. One of the side effects of that was, when I went to play baseball I was always on the “new kids team”. While other teams had been together for a while, we were thrown together and had to hope for the best. Most of the time, we stunk and did not win too many games. We never went winless though and it was that knowledge that we could win at any time that drove us to keep going on. We could have given up and thrown in the towel. But if we never played, how could we ever win? We couldn’t. So we played on with the hope that the next game would be the one where we came out on top. When we go out into the world as Christians, we face the same uphill climb that I had on the new kids team. The deck is stacked against us. We are few and the unsaved are many. Where we have hope though is that we have the greatest coach ever guiding us. We don’t have to go out there knowing we will never win, we go knowing we can win. It is not just us out there when we go, we go with the Holy Spirit. With Him, all things are possible. Philippians 4:13 tells us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. That tells us that no matter how small our numbers, no matter how much the world is against us, that we can make a difference. Every person you reach and bring the light of God to, is one less person who is living in darkness. With every person we reach, our numbers grow. With every new light that is turned on, there is less darkness than there was before. We can go on with the hope that even though we get shot down time after time, the next person we go to will see the light and be saved. We can knock on 100 doors that never get open because we have the hope that the 101st one will be opened to us. Do not be discouraged and do not lose the faith! Keep pressing on and doing the work we have been called to do as Christians. You never know, the next person you talk to might be the one you were meant to reach.

Romans 12:2 - Don't Copy The Ways of This World, Copy The Ways of Christ

Romans 12:2 - Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." The older I get the more I realize that things will change regardless if I want them to or not. Everything changes from simple stuff like clothes, cars and hair styles to the big things in our lives. Don’t get me wrong, not all change is bad, not all change is good, it’s just that the world and the people in it are always evolving and changing before our eyes. What we have to watch for is that we do not drop our guard and let ourselves be changed by the world we live in. Our verse today is a reminder to us to not copy the behavior and customs of this world. The people of this world is not the ones we should be trying to please. The customs of this place are not those we should be interested in conforming to. What we should be striving to do, what we should hope to mimic is the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. He did not come to earth to fit in; He came here to stand out. He did not come here to follow along, He came to lead! As Christians we are called to do the same thing with our lives. We are His ambassadors to the world around us. It is up to us to set the example for others to see. It is our job and duty not to be transformed by the world we live in but to be transformed by the love and the grace that can only come from the living God. By standing apart from the behavior and customs of this world we can start to learn what His will for us is. Think about it, if you were on a cell phone call in the middle of a sporting event or a concert, you probably would not be able to get much from the conversation. There would be too much noise and distraction around you and it would drown out what you were being told. Same holds true for us as Christians. How can you hear what God wants from you if you are weighed down in the ways of the world? Learn to be in the world but not of the world. Ask for the courage needed to say no to the ways of man and say yes to the ways of the Spirit. Change is going to happen regardless of what we do. Styles and fads will come and go and what is in today will be gone tomorrow. God is constant. You want to embrace change in your life? Embrace Christ and let the Spirit change you. God has a plan for you, allow yourself to be changed for His use today.

Mark 5:24-34 – Awesome Faith

I was looking at the book of Mark, chapter 5 the other day when I came by the verses 24-34. It was the story of the women that had been subject to bleeding for 12 years. Jesus had come into town and large crowds had gathered around Him to hear Him and to see for themselves the miracles that He was doing. I can see the scene in my minds eye. Masses of people piled on top of each other crowding in and pushing and shoving just to see Him. Now see this lady. She is hurting and afflicted and she knows Jesus is close by. She is convinced that if she can just get close enough to Him to touch His clothes that she would be healed. She did not need to speak to Him or plead her case to Him. She knew that if she could just get close enough to touch His clothes, she would be ok. So she fought her way through the crowd step by step. She kept her eyes on Jesus the whole time and had a singular focus. Finally she finds herself close to Him and reaches out and touches His cloak. Jesus felt this and called out for her. She was afraid but came forward and hit her knees. He did not yell at her and did not speak down to her. He simply said “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering”. How awesome was her faith? Look at her, she was no one of importance and suffering from her affliction yet she fought to get to Jesus. Her faith in Him is what drove her forward. Nothing was going to stop her and nothing anyone could say would have kept her from her goal. Do you have that kind of faith in Jesus? It’s sad to say but most of us are nothing like this lady was, myself included. See, she was willing to do whatever it took to get to Him and just be in His presence and we seem to do all we can not to be with Him. We don’t spend the time to read His word. We won’t go to Him in prayer. We do not congregate with other believers and worship Him. All she wanted to do was touch His cloak. My faith and my relationship with God is nowhere near that woman’s was and for that I am ashamed. We all should be. But I know that I can do better and will do my best to strengthen that relationship daily for the rest of my days. Are you satisfied with your relationship with Him?

Great News!

Over the last 6 months I have been blessed with the gift of sharing God's word with His people. I am always amazed that He can do so much with what little I have to offer. In order to better bring the message of Christ to the people I have decided to move this page to another website. The new site is up and running at this time and can be found at www.yourchristianvoice.net. Here you will find all of the previous messages as well as other new information about myself and my ministry. We also have a media center where we will have sermons and soon, video messages for you to enjoy. Other new features include a contact page so as to reach me directly for questions you may have or to schedule me to speak at your event. I will continue to post info to both websites until February the 14th, Valentines day. For all of you that have followed me over the last few months, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and ask you to follow me to the new site. For those just picking up my message, please follow over to the new site as well. As always, i ask that you share this site with those in your life. The more people who hear the word, the more people will be impacted by it. Thanks in advance, your friend - Jason

Who Are You Following

A while back some friends and I decided to go to this new restaurant that had just opened up to grab some food. I had never been there before so a buddy of mine told me to follow him as he knew where it was at. So, I showed up to meet him at the predetermined time and at the predetermined place and off we went. He was in the lead and I was right behind him. We drove all over the place it seemed like to me until he finally pulled over into a parking lot. I rolled the window down and he admitted that he was not as sure as he thought he was of were he was going and that he was lost. We ended up getting directions from the guys that were already there at the restaurant and we showed up late. I tell you this story to ask you a question, who are you following? Are you following along with your pastor? Do you consider them to be your spiritual leader? Are you following the lead of your parents or elders of the church as they seem like they have the right way of going about stuff? Are you following me and look to me for the way to heaven? If so, why? None of us have ever been to heaven; we are here just like the rest of you. Sure we may look like we have it all together and that we know the way that you should follow but in reality the only one that can lead the way, the only one qualified to be your spiritual leader is Jesus. We can show up at church and follow along with the teachings of our pastors but we can’t do it blindly. If you have a blind trust in what they teach, or what I teach, or what elders teach, what happens to you if we are wrong? Are you willing to bet your salvation on someone else’s teachings? I am not. I am not telling you to not go to church or not to read my messages. What I am saying is that you should, but know the truth for yourself. If you know the truth, if you know God’s word, then you will know when someone is trying to lead you wrong. Go to church, read all you can (like this blog for example) and try to gain some perspective on what the teachings are. Just do not take their word as truth and follow along blindly. If you are going to follow anyone’s teachings blindly, make sure you are following the teachings of Jesus Christ. If not you might find yourself in a much worse place than a vacant parking lot when all is said and done.

When Faith Is Needed Most

When Faith is Needed Most Recently, our family has had a scare. My Mom has been in the hospital and the doctors were having a hard time figuring out what was wrong with her.We spent a lot of time waiting for results as the doctors ran one test after another in search of something they can fix. It was a very frustrating process. We had to trust that they were doing all they could and have faith that all would work out. It's easy to have faith and trust in God when all is going smooth. It's when we face adversity or unexpected trials in our lives that we tend to lose our way. We start to blame God for allowing the bad to happen. We lose our belief that He is watching out for us and we back-slide some. What we have to know is that everything happens for a reason. It's hard to remember that though when you are going through the worst. God knows what we need and He knows what we can handle. He is always with us, especially during the hard times. Trust in Him in all things always. Don't just be willing to sing His praises and go to Him when all is good. Also don't blame him when stuff goes bad. Lean on Him and let Him get you though the rough spots in your life. We will always need God, in good and bad times. It's when we are hurting and in need that we need Him most. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6. He has been there for my family and me this last week and I am very thankful for that. He can be there for you too. Thanks to all of you that have kept us in your prayers. It is appreciated more than you will know and more then I can ever say. It is my pleasure and honor to be able to minister to you daily. God Bless You All!

update

Mom is doing a bit better but still in hospital. I know i have not posted a new message in a few days but as soon as she is out of the woods i will have new posts up. thanks for your understanding. - Jason

Request for prayer

I will not have a new message up here for a few days. My mom is in the hospital and we are taking turns staying with her. I would ask that you pray for her and ask God to be with her doctors as they work to make her well. Thanks to all of you in advance. God bless you all!

Freedom Is Not Free

When I became a soldier I had to sign a contract. This contract was a promise that I made to my country telling them that I was willing to sacrifice several years of my life for the purpose of protecting us all. I was publically saying that I was willing to forfeit my life for the greater good if the need should arise. It was not a decision to take lightly but in the end I understood that freedom is not free and that someone has to be willing to serve so that others can live free. God understood this as well. He knew that on our own we were helpless. That in order to secure our freedom from sin a sacrifice would be needed. The problem was that our sin was so overwhelming and had such a strong hold over us that the price to buy that freedom would be steep. The only way that He could cover this was to come to earth as Jesus and die on the cross. He had to give up all in order to pay the price that was needed to clear our slate. He had to die to free us from that sin. Knowing the sacrifice that was made and what the price paid was why do we choose to still live in sin? We have a choice now. We can choose to live a life that glorifies Him and shows thanks for the gift that was given or we can live as we always have. We can go back to that sin that weighed us down and live like we do not know the truth. The sad thing is that too often that is what we will choose to do. We do so because it is what we know. We do so because that is what is comfortable for us. I am telling you right now though that you do not have to live that way. That there is a better way. Sure you might not be comfortable but you will be free. Your life will be your own again and sin will not control your life. I know that I will never be free from sin but I can choose not to live in that sin. So can you. Break the chains that are holding you down. Get washed in the blood and start to live for Him. The price has already been paid to buy your freedom, all you have to do is accept it and start living free. Are you ready?

Always be Prepared and Practice What You Preach

2 Timothy 4:2 - Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. I work with kids a lot. I enjoy their drive, their energy, and the fact that they are always looking for answers. Knowing this, I have to always be prepared to address whatever they want to talk about. I find that they keep me on my toes and keep me sharp. With kids, you have to be ready for anything because you never know what they might ask you or when they will ask it. I have found that you just have to be honest with them and even if the question makes you uncomfortable, you have to give them an answer. Same can be said when dealing with unbelievers. They will question you and they will try to trip you up. You have to be aware of this fact and be prepared to deal with these instances when you are addressed with them. In other words always be prepared to lead folks to the truth by knowing the Word of God and being able to challenge those that speak false truths or do not fully understand. While we are doing this we need to take great care in what we are preaching. This is true not only in the wisdom we pass to them but it has to be evident in how we live our lives. We can’t preach the value of service to others and then never do anything for anyone other than ourselves. We can’t preach restraint and then behave in a way that shows none. If you lead them wrong or do not give them the truth, you are the one to be held accountable according to the bible. I urge you to take the time to become prepared. Be ready at any time to preach the word and to bring others into the light. Just make sure that you are able to practice what you preach.

Weeds

When I was a kid we had a small garden in our backyard. I loved the food that came out of it but I hated the work that it took to get the crop in. One thing I hated more than the rest was going out and weeding the garden. It seemed like every day I had to go out and pull them up and throw them away. As a kid, I did not understand why I had to do this. I mean, to me, it looked like as soon as I pulled one up, another would pop up in its place. It was not until I got older that I understood why I had to do this. If I did not remove the weeds from the garden, then that weed would take the water and nutrients from the fruit and the garden would not produce as much as it should. We have weeds all around us in our lives but for some reason we refuse to pluck them up and toss them aside. Those weeds that we allow to stick around drain us of our energy, our time, and our willingness to listen to what God wants us to do in our lives. How much more productive could you be for the kingdom without those weeds choking you out? You have to learn that you are in control of the weeds in your life. You might not ever be able to get rid of the weeds all together, but you don’t have to feed them and allow them to grow. Instead, why not feed the things in your life that will bear fruit? A garden full of weeds, our a garden full of food, which one would you rather have?

Surrender To His Will

When I was 20 years old, I signed up to be a soldier. I got on an airplane and flew to San Antonio Texas. From there, I got on a bus bound for the base and boot camp training. Just before the bus came to a stop, we could see all the drill sergeants waiting. When the bus stopped, the yelling began! I knew very quickly that I had to surrender my agenda to these guys or I was going to have a rough go of it. Just like I had to give up my plans when I got to boot camp, when we become Christians, we have to surrender our will to God’s. We have a hard time doing that though don’t we? We do not always want to listen and obey to what He puts on our hearts. The good news is that we have some good company in that regards. The Bible is full of examples of where people were called by God and did not want to obey. Jonah ran off and had to live in a fish for 3 days before he responded to God’s call and obeyed. Moses had a burning bush talk to him in the middle of nowhere and what did he do? He basically gave every excuse in the book why he should not be picked. If those men, who had a huge impact for the kingdom of heaven had a hard time surrendering to God’s will, what would make you think that you are any different? The deal here is that when we do surrender, when we just give in and do things His way, great things can happen. He has a plan and a purpose for all that He does. So when the creator of all things lays something on your heart, He does it for a reason. Trust that He will take care of all things and let Him use you. Big or small, likely or unlikely, God can take the smallest of acts and do great things with them. All we have to do for this to happen through us is to listen and obey.

John 15:7 - If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Recently I have begun to look around for chances to share the word with those around me through speaking engagements. I am not looking for money or fame, just for the chance to share with others what is in my heart. I know that God is faithful and will open doors for me but at the same time I know I need to be willing to do my part and knock. Some folks might find my attempts out of line or presumptuous but then others might see the intent of my heart and be willing to check me out. I know that the doors that do not open do not open for a reason. I have to accept that and trust His guidance. Who knows, in time, those doors might be open to me, I just have to trust that He will lead me where He needs me. If I get shot down 100 times, that’s ok. I know that as long as I keep Christ in my heart and in my life that He will provide. Our verse today tells us “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you”. I know that He is with me always and I am with Him. So I can know wholeheartedly that He will grant me the chances I am searching for to share His love. So, whatever is going on in your life, do not get despaired and lose hope. Keep God in your heart, read His words, and praise His name. He will answer your needs and keep His promise. Do not be afraid to step out and reach for your goals. As long as He is with you and you are with Him, nothing is out of your reach!

Roots

When we left the military we were looking for a place to live where we felt we could put down roots. We wanted to find a place we could tie ourselves to and start to build a life for ourselves. So, we came home to North Carolina and now 7 years later we can happily say that we are dug in deep. That’s the thing with roots, the longer they have to take hold, the deeper they tend to run. Where are your roots when it comes to your faith? Are you deeply rooted in God’s enduring love our are your roots only running along the surface? Have you fully tapped into the living water or are you slowly dying of thirst? Every plant needs the basics in order to grow and the same is true when it comes to our faith. Fellowship, praise, and prayer are just as important to your growth as a Christian as soil, sunlight, and water are for plants. These are things that you can not do without. You can try to spruce it up and pump yourself up artificially but in the end you will not bare as much fruit as you were intended to. When you have your roots dug in deep with God though, there is no limit to what you can produce. Take the time and do the things that you need to do to allow your roots to grow. Read the bible, go to church, pray; all of these things will feed your growth. Once the roots start to take hold, you will see things open up like never before. Life becomes less stressful, anxiety seems to fade, and happiness appears to be more abundant. You can not tap into that source though unless you are willing to put the roots down. Stop fighting the fight alone. Stop wondering around on your own with out any real direction. It is time to come home and put down some roots. What are you waiting for?

Where Are You Going?

The new year is always a time for resolutions. We all come up with one or two things we want to work on as part of our pledges for the new year. We all also see those resolutions fly out the window in a few weeks as a rule (example? see my diet plan). We also tend to take this time of the year to reflect on where we have been and more important, where are we going. I have no idea where I am going just yet, but I know regardless of where I go, God will be with me. I do not have any fear for whats around the corner because I know He will see me through whatever comes my way. I know that He has also given me all the skills and ability I will need to address what ever is put in my path. I no longer have to worry about where I am going, and thats a great feeling. What about you? Do you have that peace of mind in your life? You can. Stop spending your time and energy worrying about what is down the road and start knowing that whatever it is, you will be ok. He has seen me through so much in my life, He wants to do the same for you too. All you have to do is let Him.

In God We Trust

Take a US one dollar bill out of your wallet and take a look at the back of it. You will see the phrase “In God We Trust” on it. We see the words but lose the meaning. It’s no longer a basic truth in our lives; instead it’s just a phrase that most think is outdated or is just there because it was always there. Why is that though? Why don’t we trust God more than we do? Is it that we have gotten so jaded that we think we can only rely on ourselves or our close friends? I have news for you; those friends will fail you at some point. You think you can rely on yourself? I don’t think so. Even the hardest of bodies and wills can be broken over time. God on the other hand never breaks, He never fails, and He never leaves us. He is the rock on which we can stand at all times and in all situations. Simply put, He is the only thing that we can count on 100%. As we turn the page from 2010 to 2011, try to make an effort to put your trust where it needs to be. Put your trust in the Lord and allow Him to make your new year greater and more fulfilling than you ever thought possible. If you do, I promise you that 2011 will be a year to remember.