And God Goes On Blessing
You know, I was thinking. Last night I had the opportunity to make a hospital visit and see a two year old who has been recovering from having a tumor remove from the base of her brain. She's been in the hospital for over a month now and was sitting up playing and laughing and eating and laughing some more, and God keeps on blessing! I then spent some time with a dear brother in the Lord. We had dinner together and then some coffee at Starbucks! We discussed some things that he and I never dicussed before and it was a great time, and God keeps on blessing. During the evening I received a call from the plant where I work. There was a shipping problem that I wasn't responsible for taking care of but I did anyway. I began to complain a little about it but the dear friend I was with said something like "be thankful you have a job", and God keeps on blessing. The past couple of weeks I've been in a bit of a funk! I have needed to press through some things. There have been a number of people and circumstances that have been sent my way to take care of all of the issues, and God keeps on blessing. Now matter how much I get in the way and try to mess things up God keeps on blessing. HE is good all the time and HE calls ME Son, and God keeps on blessing. Be blessed beyond belief today.
The Best Defense...
You know, I was thinking. The old saying that the best defense is a good offense really applies to life today. Recently the Pudgeman has been part of several personal attacks by the enemy that has caused me to react in ways that I never dreamed possible. I have found out that I am not immune to the slings and arrows of the enemy and in fact what God has begun with me seems to have gotten some attention in the hadean world! Fortunately God has been my protector for some time now and even though I have fallen into a couple of enemy traps, He has been there to pull me out. This thought came to me this morning that maybe I have been sitting back and just playing defense lately! Maybe I need to take this up to the next level and launch an attack on the enemy for a change. Then I thought, how do I do that? How do I attack an unseen enemy? The answer came to me as quickly as the question did. You attack with the unseen army! You call upon the name of the Lord and allow Him to do the work that is needed to be done within you. So, how do you do that? Time in the word, prayer, fasting, meditating, teaching, ministering and praising HIM! The enemy cannot be seen with the human eye so don't try to attack him with human methods. It reminds me of Jesus' words with the great commision "Go into all the world and preach the gospel... and I will be with you always even to the end of the earth". When we spend time dwelling on those things that God would have us to do, Jesus is right there beside us. He doesn't leave! Although we do have attacks, he is right there in the midst of the fight. Although we might get wounded and battle weary, we will never be conquered. Although "I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Your rod and your staff comfort me". God is good, all the time and I need to trust in "Him who gives me strength". You feeling attacked? Take the enemy to the mat! Be blessed beyond belief today.
Button Pushing
You know, I was thinking. Our enemy has a way of pushing our buttons. He knows where we are weak and where we are strong. He nips at us endlessly to get us to do things that are so out of character that it scares people. Well, he got to me yesterday and it caused me to hurt someone very near and dear to me. Fortunately, I serve a God who is greater than that enemy, and a brother wo serves that God tirelessly. Before the day was finished yesterday the situation had been resolved and all had been forgiven but the feelings of remorse remain. They will soon be gone and life will be back to normal or even better very soon. You never know how strong a relationship is until it has been challenged. I heard a great pastor say that on numerous occasions. I guess the reason for this post today is to encourage all of you who are reading this to take care of business. Relationships on earth are a direct reflection of our relationships on the spiritual level. How we treat one another is a direct reflection of how we treat God. When we hurt each other, we hurt God. When we love on one another, we are loving on God. He is always in control and we are always going to make mistakes. But when we make a mistake that is when we have to make a decision to do it His way or to take matters into our own hands.
God will make things better if we let Him do it. Swallow your pride, stand up, dust off and tell that person you love so dearly "I'm sorry"! God will take it from there. Be blessed beyond belief today.
Being Blessed Beyond Belief Today
You know, I was thinking. I have been on this career rollercoaster lately. Things are so up and down from week to week and even day to day that my head just keeps on spinning! God has blessed me through all things good and bad, and for that I am truely thankful.
Today I was reading a couple of blogs that made me realize how truely blessed I am. Those that know me know how much family means to me. Family relationships are only second to a relationship with Jesus. As I read a couple of blog posts from #1 and #4 I realized how blessed I am to have these two nephews (and brothers) in my life! These guys have grown by leaps and bounds in the Lord over the last year or so. They are both still in their first year of marriage. They both struggle and enjoy triumphs. They both have wonderful wives and sons that mean so much to me I can't even explain it. They both golf (well sorta) and enjoy spending time with family. Having these two in my life is only one reason that I am being blessed beyond belief today. Love you guys! B4T
Ministry Multipicity
You know, I was thinking. The NewSong Community Church has gotten off to a great start! Over the last week or so I have been blessed to be involved in a 101 class, two small groups, a new prayer ministry that has started, a great worship service and the best Christian concert in the park that I have ever experienced in my life. One thing rang true in each and every one of these events, we need to see this more often. Not done by the same church in the same place but we need to see this kind of thing happening all over the county, state, country and world. Multiplying ministry means that not only do I take what God has blessed me with and do what I can do to further the Kingdom, but it also means that I teach others with similar talents and gifts to do the same thing. This becomes frightening to some because a lot of people find there self worth in doing things that others sometimes can't do or can't do as well. When we teach others what we know, we take the chance on them becoming better at whatever it is we are teaching them then we are. This puts us at risk! We may not be the best singer, prayer warrior, Bible teacher, preacher, administrator, janitor, greeter or whatever any longer. We might actually have to share the spot light with somebody else and the attention won't be on me any longer. Well there's the problem. You have to keep the focus on Jesus! Let the spot light shine on the Almighty! We are just the tools in the master carpenter's hands. Our job is to recruit and make not just more tools but better tools if we can, and leaving the rest up to Him! Let your love and service abound in Jesus today. Be blessed beyond belief today.
Now What?
You know, I was thinking. The NewSong concert and celebration is this Sunday afternoon. We are expecting a lot of folks from our community to come out and join us and the worship band in a great celebration. Then what? Where do we go from there? I know that a number of NewSong members read this blog so what are YOUR plans to follow up this big events. What do YOU think that YOU should do to help bring our community to Jesus? What ministry do you think that God has called YOU into? If you are having a tough time answering these questions then it's probably because you haven't put much thought into them! I am not trying to be judgemental, just real. I know that I stand convicted of not doing enough for the cause of Christ and I desire to change that. I am looking for an opportunity on Sunday to meet new people and hopefully have an chance to introduce them to Jesus through this event. Be in prayer about how God wants to use you to further HIS kingdom. Be blessed beyond belief today!
I Must Be A Genius
You know, I was thinking. I must really be a genius! I have a new acronym that really works. I will now be ending my comments with B4T! Anyone that can guess the correct meaning of this new Pudge statement will win themselves an invitation to next spring's Memorial Day Open and the BBQ Blowout to follow! Give me your best guesses. Be blessed today.
Mental Instability
You know, I was thinking. Most of the people that I am close to and love dearly just aren't wrapped too tightly! I mean, I associate with a bunch of crazies and lunatics! But what is the benchmark for normality? What does a saine person really look like. I think what it boils down to is that I associate with a bunch of people that are real. They are not afraid to be who they really are around me, nor am I afraid to be who I really am around them. This became abundantly clear this past weekend while I was on vacation. I realized that my life is more transparent now than it ever has been. I like being who God made me to be and sometimes (alright most of the time) I am a little bit nutz! But are those people I associate with really that crazy or am I just able to bring out the inner crazy person that is sitting inside of them just waiting to get out? Either way, it's just good to be who you are! Do yourself this favor today (understand this is not an original thought, just a stolen one that is very good), dance like nobody's watching, sing like nobody's listening, and live today as if it were your last. Be blessed today.
