With us is God

A devotional from last week asked the question, "How is God with you?"  When I hit this question my mind and my mental energies all began to focus on the power and the probing of the question.  I stopped reading and thought about my response long and hard.  I could imagine incidents and moments from my past, but when I got ready to journal about it, I drew a blank.  Nothing to type, an empty written journal and even trying to talk through it failed.  I drew a blank in every sense of the word.

It is not that God is not with me, or that I don't believe God is with me.  I know and have known that He has been with me all of my life.  It just seemed like there in that moment, staring at the question all I could do was see blurred scenes from my life.  Yet, God is so good because this week, in an unrelated devotional the spark came to me and my thoughts returned.  Here is what I know about God being with us and with me personally.

With us is God!  We feel Him with us in the voice of a stranger who speaks a kind word, and in the voice of a loved one in whom the very sound of their voice gives us joy and comfort.  

With us is God!  We feel Him with us in the comfort that we receive from a random act of kindness; the thought of a friend who says, "Today, you were on my mind and I prayed for you."

With us is God!  We feel Him with us in the moments when we have failed and we realize that failure is not final.  

With us is God!  We feel Him with us in the moments when forgiveness is given, freedom is granted and life is restored to us again.

With us is God!  We feel Him with us when prayers are answered, and even when we realize that they were best left unanswered.

With us is God!  We feel Him with us in the moments when a hope deferred is suddenly restored, and the long awaited for promise comes like the surprise of the Christ child.

With us is God!  We feel Him with us when hurts are healed and wounded relationships are made whole again.

With us is God!  We feel Him with us in the moments when our tears are caught in His hand and we realize that He too weeps with us.

With us is God!  We feel Him with us when love is shared in the gentle touch of a spouse, the pure hug of a child or the reassuring touch of a parent.

With us is God!  We feel Him with us in the moments when fear and darkness are defeated by the power of love and the bright light of the Holy God.

With us is God!  We feel Him with us in the moments when the suffering and pain of this world collide with the joy of knowing we have the certainty of eternal life with no more pain.

With us is God!  He is with us when we see signs of love, joy, peace and patience.  He is with us when we are at our highest and we rejoice in the goodness and greatness around us.  He is with us when we are down and out and our souls cry out in pain, anguish and disappointment.  As the author of the 100 Most Important Bible Verses proclaims, God has transcended all of the limitations of time and space to be with us always and everywhere, and in all things.

Christmas time reminds me that Jesus is Immanuel - God with us (or with us is God).  He has been with me when I cried at the graveside, when I wanted to quit in the classroom, when I sat in the ER mourning what could have been, when I with joy held a child, when I received the news of remission, when I felt loved and forgiven, when I said "I do", when I received His grace, when there was and there wasn't food on the table, when I lost my job and when a new one quickly took its place, and when I remember His goodness.  

With us is God and God is with us always.

Sharing a encouraging prayer shared with me...

Dear Father in heaven, forgive my lack of belief. Forgive me for allowing Satan to deceive me or make me think I'm worthless or unworthy of Your miracles. I am worthy because You made me worthy. You are the God of the impossible, and I ask You to help me wait on You and never give up. In the name of Jesus Christ my Lord, I pray. Amen.

From the book Battlefield of the Mind Devotional by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2005 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

What God has promised, God is able to do and he is faithful to bring it to pass.
--
Cassius
Knowing Christ is the act of a moment, and the work of a lifetime.

A mist

James 4:14 says it this way, what is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and vanishes.  Sounds depressing?  Not all.  It sounds like a rallying cry and a challenge to focus. 

You don't have forever to do what you were made for, to live with purpose and to do great things.  Here is the rallying cry and marching song: "Don’t waste time on things that don’t matter!"

So what matters?  Relationships matter!  Your relationship with God matters most!  Your relationship with your family (spouse, children, parents, siblings, relatives), with friends (co-workers) and with the world (near or far, human or not) around you.  That is what matters! 

Don't waste time on getting things, arguing over things, and doing things that won't matter in another ten minutes, let alone ten years!

March on towards a meaningful life overflowing with relationships that will last for eternity, connections that will withstand the test of time, and those things that will radically reshape the world into a more "godly" world till Then!

This Lion...

So what's up with this lion?  If you've seen my profile on this site or other sites you might be wondering, what gives?  What's up with the lion?  What happened to a normal profile picture?

Well, besides the fact that I love lions for their raw majestic beauty and their savage power, I use the image of a lion to remind me of something more and greater.  When I see the image of this lion I remind myself that Jesus is the Lion of Judah.  As the Lion of the tribe of Judah, he is triumphant, majestic and powerful.  And I love him!

"Then one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep!  See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.  He is able'...."  (Revelations 5:5)

On Falling in Love with God

A devotional on the 10 Commandments from www.youversion.com contained an amazing insight that I (we) so often forget.

Life is not about following God's rules or commandments.  It is not about does and don'ts and keeping score.  Instead, real life is about having a heart that loves Him, trusts Him, and wants (desires, burns, yearns, wills, dreams and wishes) to honor God through obedience and our lives themselves.

It really is all about falling in love with God everyday and living a love life with Him. Intimate. Affectionate. Committed. Loving.

Creative God

Consider this, God's creativity is shown in sunsets, sunrises, nature, and humanity. But most of all His creativity is shown in salvation.

"Only an all-powerful and creative God could have designed the perfect plan for our salvation and redemption, and carry it out!" - Keys for Kids Devotional Series (9/11/13)

Thank you God for being wonderful, creative and the one who saves and worked to redeem us.

Be the best

At a band competition watching the school before DFHS and it hit me, this band is really good. Briefly I wasted energy wanting to nit pick, but then I stopped. I realized that this other band being good was okay. All it meant was that we needed to be better. It is okay if others are good, we just have to be the best.

What would life look like if we all celebrated the good, and even greatness of others without putting them down or being negative? How much better, stronger, and excellent could we be if we would appreciate the goodness of others, and just resolve to be better?

What if you decide that the best of others will become part of the fuel that drives you to be the BEST?
--
Cassius
Knowing God is the act of a moment and the work of a lifetime

One play off

I was recently watching a football game on TV.  The home team had just scored on a methodical drive.  I don't recall how many plays it took, but there were a number of quick and exciting plays on the drive.  It was that type of scoring drive that seemed to take the wind out of the defense, figuratively and literally.  Never before had I seen so many athletes huffing and puffing and looking defeated.  This drive, coming on the heels of a previous failure of the visiting team, also seemed to strike doubt into the entire sideline of the visiting team.  Fans with painted faces and jerseys stood or sat in stunned silence. 

The silence and the despair seemed to become even more evident when the visiting team received the kick off.  Only two plays into their next offensive drive and it was evident that the visitors were rattled and in jeopardy of being blown out.  The momentum was against them.  On first down the running back and quarterback were mixed up.  On second down the quarterback was rushed and threw a poor pass that was uncatchable.  Clearly, the home team was hungry and aggressive.  The home crowd was loud and as obnoxious as fans could be.  The stadium on the home side was rocking.  The home team defense was jacked up and as angry as rabid dogs.  But in an instant that all changed.

The visiting offense was trapped deep in their own territory, facing a long 3rd down on the road, and already rattled.  they were hoping to make it into half time to regroup.  They came to the line for what looked like a routine and safe play.  In fact it was an easy and routine play, until that is, one of the defenders had a mental lapse.  It was like he took one play off.  As the receiver came across the field on a short route, I imagine he was surprised to realize that no defender was covering him and no one was back playing the safety position.  Incredibly, he found himself behind the entire defense and wide open.  After one well timed and well thrown pass and 50 plus yards later, there was a burst of new life breathed into the visiting team.  The tide was turning and a sure thing was becoming as uncertain as the stock market.

This quick turn of events reminded me to pray and give thanks to God.  Why?  Well, I prayed that I, as well as all believers, would understand the danger of taking one play off.  I pray that we would understand the danger of letting our guard down, or giving the devil a foot hold.  I prayed that I would remember that I must be vigilant b/c my adversary is looking for someone who is taking a play off in their marriage, or their prayer life, or their bible study, or their thought life.  I prayed that I would remember the importance of staying true and strong in the faith.  And I gave thanks to God for this quick reminder of how even one act of sin or one lapse of judgment can have dangerous consequences. 

Truth is, sometimes one play off can be the difference between a life and ministry of joy, service, love, favor, grace and flourishing and a ministry that flounders.  Teach us God, to be vigilant.

I remember courage!

As a nation we pause and reflect on 9/11.  We stop and think about the memory and the tragedy.  As I reflect on this day the one thing I remember most is courage.

I remember the courage of fire fighters, rescue personnel, friends, police officers, parents, teachers and neighbors.

So today I pause and pray for those who courageously gave themselves that day.