Sunday, August 24, 2008

Title: God Is In Control And On His Throne
Scripture: Isaiah 6:1
Passage: In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Thoughts: Are you worried about the future… about our nation… about our leaders?

You're not alone. According to the Scripture, Isaiah and the rest of the Israelites were really troubled because their earthly king was dead.
They were grieved… and they were worried about the future.

But God gave Isaiah a vision of His glory and holiness.

This prophet describes how he saw Him “sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up.”
Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on the throne of the universe.

When Isaiah entered into the presence of the Lord, he realized that there was a greater One than any earthly king sitting upon the throne of the universe. His name is holy God, the Lord of Hosts!

Like the Israelites, it's easy to worry about the future… and wonder what's gone wrong and what will happen next in our world.

But as believers in Jesus, we don't have to wonder!

We don't have to bite our nails and worry because we know that our God is sitting on the throne of the universe.

Remember there’s no worry or panic in heaven… only plans.

God never walks up and down the streets of heaven wondering about what He's going to do next.

So no matter what's going on in your world… no matter how out-of-control things may seem… remember that God is still on His throne!

I want to encourage you to get your mind off the earthly and temporary and fix your eye of faith on your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who is gloriously reigning and ruling on the throne of this universe!

God is in control!!!!!!!!! Amen!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Title: Rise Above The Circumstances
Scripture: Genesis 50:20
Passage: ...you intended evil to harm me, but God intended it all for good...
Thoughts: Everybody faces adversity from time to time. Someone loses a job. Bills are due, but there’s no money to pay them. A relationship is strained and in trouble. We feel misunderstood and get stressed out.

How we handle these situations can say a lot about our faith in the Lord.

Look at Joseph. In his case, his problems started the moment he fell for his brothers' "we've got a really neat pit to show you" trick.
They sold him as a slave to some Ishmaelites that were passing through the area in an attempt to get rid "the dreamer" (Genesis 37:19). Finally Joseph was able to gain a good standing with Potiphar and was put in charge of his house. But then later, when things were going pretty good, Potiphar's wife tried to seduce Joseph and then falsely accused him of adultery. Joseph ended up in prison as a result of the lies.

Joseph had plenty of opportunities to complain about the injustices he was facing. He had plenty of chances to complain about the treatment he'd received from his brothers.

He could've easily become bitter when the king's cupbearer was released from prison and forgot about him.
But these kinds of actions and attitudes would have just brought Joseph to complete hopelessness.
Instead, Joseph allowed himself to be used by God to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. Then Pharaoh took him out of prison and put him in charge of Egypt, where he organized a plan to store grain before the famine happened.

Finally, Joseph was reunited with his brothers.

What was intended for bad was used by God for good.

Another translation of this Scripture that I like says it like this:
Even though you planned evil against me, God planned good to come out of it.

Obstacles have the ability to take us out of contention, but we also have the opportunity to rise above them.

We can cry, complain, and live in misery because of our struggles and the circumstances and the adversity we face......and that would be easy to do and..... might even be justified sometimes.

Or we can react like Joseph—allowing God, in His timing, to bring something good out of our circumstances.

Are you allowing God to help you land on your feet?

He loves you and wants to do it. Let Him do it!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Title: An Attitude Of Worship
Scripture: Psalm 66:4
Passage: All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.
Thoughts: I want to ask you a question……..
When God looks at your life, does He see genuine worship or does He see a counterfeit?

Does He see something real or something phony?

The bottom line is that each of us were made to worship God.

And until we realize the true purpose in life... which is to worship Him and enjoy Him forever… we’ll always be unfulfilled.

We’ll always be frustrated because worship is the central purpose of life!
It’s impossible to be a productive, positive Christian without participating in meaningful, genuine worship!

And I’m not just talking about corporate worship.

Worship is more than just something we do... worship is a lifestyle!!! Amen??

It’s an attitude that we carry with us every day.

It’s an activity and an attitude that reveals our inner heart and recognizes the value we place on God in our lives.

That’s what worship is!!!!!!

So I want to encourage you and challenge you to make your life a life of worship... an exclamation
and testimony of the glory of God!

Think about this for a moment and take inventory to answer this question… Do you have an attitude of genuine worship?