Opportunities Abound

In a time where optimism seems prevalent, we can’t assume that all opportunities have ceased to exist.  The naysayers of the world will look at the time of struggle as a loss to them, but those who look through the eyes of faith will see that opportunities abound.  Winston Churchill expresses that,

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.  Winston Churchill

It is not enough to just look at life either as half full or half empty.  It not just thinking positive thoughts, but seeing life through faith.  The bible states that we are all called to

“Not look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.’’ 2 Corinthians 4:18. 

In Christ we find our hope. In Christ we find our opportunities.  Whether you are laid off from a job or you’re unsatisfied in the place you are, we can look at that as an opportunity to seek out the path God has for us.  In the past I looked at the negativities of life as road blocks, but I found that those negativities that occur can serve as opportunities to launch into the next area of my life. 

When you find yourself in a situation that causes you to look at the negative side of life; STOP! Regroup and begin to shift your gaze at that which is not seen.  Look at those truths Christ has spoken to you by His word.  The truth is that even when life is not happening as we plan it, God is in the mist of the chaos reforming a reshaping who we are and our life.

 

My wife recently was cleaning our home.  The home was clean before she started, but as she proceeded to deep clean our house the mess began.  The house didn’t look cleaner, but the opposite occurred.  It began to look even messier.  I felt God talking to me about how that happens in life.  Often when He is getting the crevices clean and pruning us life seems to be not what we expect, but He is at work.  If we allow Him to finish the process He will bring it all back together and we will be cleaner so to speak than before. 

What is the purpose of this post? To express that even though negativity is occurring, don’t stop seeing life through faith.  Let your heart rest on Christ.  He will take care of any attacks that are forming against you and present to you an even great opportunity.  Life will get better and better as we rest in His love for us.  In His love we know He will never see us harmed, but will place us on the best possible path of life.  Don’t forget opportunities abound, just look by faith.

Be Childish

Have you ever noticed how life sometimes can drain your motivation?   What can go wrong seems to go wrong, and what can go right… well just doesn’t go that way?  I remember back when I was a kid I would always imagine what I would be doing when I grew up.  I had big dreams and had a ton of questions.  As I grew my vision became smaller, and those questions became less frequent.  I look at my daughter and I see her imagination.  Her creative ability to play with a seemingly unentertaining toy caused me to think.  Often in life our vision gets so small we forget to dream.  Dream of what life can be opposed to what it can’t be.  Have you ever been there? Maybe you are there now.  Jesus used children as examples on how to enter the Kingdom.  He even referred to people as children.  We can look at them and never notice how influential they are in our lives. 

 When a person is born again—there is such a childlike faith.  Often times the “mature” Christians try to make this child grow with rules on Christianity, but is that the way to go?  Like myself I was so passionate about Jesus and was willing to let go of everything and anything.   As I grew in Christ I grew in many areas of knowledge and wisdom, but lost some of that child like faith. 

I realized a while back that I can’t let that happen in my life.  I have to be willing to let go of everything and just dream and let God’s heart direct my steps.  Let’s never lose that faith which has all the dependency upon God for all of our needs.  Let’s dream big and have the vision of changing the world.  It wasn’t the child Jesus was speaking to who needed to change.  It was the adult who needed to change.  I believe true Christian maturity is really letting go of what you want, and embracing all that Christ has.  Understanding that who I am is dependent upon Christ and all that He has accomplished for me.  Please let me know what you think about this subject… would love to hear from you. 

Preparation

As I get older I realize the need for preparation in my life.  Life just doesn’t happen.  It is a result of planning and preparation.  I recently began to go to school to prepare for the future God has for my wife and I.  We knew it was time to step out and to be stretched and challenged in our thinking.  As we did so we knew that we are being prepared and pruned for future doors that will open in our lives.  Many people forget that preparation is vital to any of our life’s goals. God chooses the process of preparation to get people ready for the fruit they are called to bare.  Overnight success is never really overnight.  We see examples of Paul who was in preparation for fourteen years before he presented the Gospel he preached to the leaders of the church.  Jesus Himself started his ministry about thirty years of age according to Luke.  Even David was pronounced king, but didn’t reign for many years after that.   All these great men even our Savior Jesus were in a process of preparation. 

As we look at life our success is based upon Christ and him alone, but the process I believe God prepares us through are seasons people never see.  The question I ask God is what am I being prepared for and what steps are you calling me to take to prepare for my future.  We all have plans and desires, but our steps must be directed and established by God.  What sparked my interest in writing about preparation came from the Scriptures.  In Matthew Jesus spoke about ten women.  Five He said were wise and five were foolish.  The wise women prepared oil and planned ahead for the coming of the groom.  The other five were foolish and prepared no oil for themselves.  While the groom was coming he was late so the women slept.  When he arrived the ten women quickly rose and the wise women had enough oil to last while the other five were not prepared and eventually missed their opportunity. 

           How often in life do we have oppurtunites that arise but, because we were not prepared we miss out.  I do not want to be a foolish person who misses his opportunities in life because of improper decisions and preparation.  I want to be the wise one who is ready for the task that is at hand.  While the grace of God is what I rely on in my life and my success is found in Christ alone; I never want to take for granted the leading of the Spirit in the season I am in.  It is this Grace that covers me and opens the doors, but as it covers me I am moved to prepare for the future of the life I have been given.    Today I challenge you to let God’s Grace consume you in all you do and begin to prepare for the future God has for you.  I leave with this great quote “Before everything else, getting ready is the secret to success.”----Henry Ford   

Proverbs 30:25 (New King James Version)

25 The ants are a people not strong,  Yet they prepare their food in the summer;

Proverbs 24:27 (New King James Version)

27 Prepare your outside work,

      Make it fit for yourself in the field;

      And afterward build your house.

Thanksgiving Overflowing

It would seem like a good time to talk about thanksgiving this time of year. I thought I would get my two cents in for the season.  I think often people feel thankful this time of year; which is great seeing that its thanksgiving, but I’m really more interested in keeping that thankfulness through the whole year.  One of my most favorite scriptures in the bible is Colossians 2:6.  It really defines how I try to live my life.  In the NLT it says

6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

As we follow Christ, Growing in Him deeply and richly; getting our substance and life from Him, and building our life upon Him we will grow and begin to overflow with thankfulness.  I have found in my own personal life a sense of thanksgiving that overflows into my whole year.  It was only because of the Grace of Christ that I can experience this.  Follow Christ and let your life grow, flourish and mature in Him and watch that thanksgiving flow into every area of your life.   Happy Thanksgiving    

what is truth?