I Think I Hear the Phone Ringing

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay, the telephone is ringing! Did you know there is actually someone waiting for your call right now? Our Heavenly Father is waiting for you to call out to Him!

King David made the call after making some mistakes. Though we strive to live a Godly life, occasionally our sinful nature wins. King David made some huge mistakes, but he realized he needed God’s assistance to help clean up the messes he made. As David wrote in a prayer in Psalm 4:1 “Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.” Replace wasting your time whining about how life is rough and instead call on your faithful friend God who is always waiting, eagerly wanting to help.

How does God respond to your call? Sometimes the help comes to you through a Bible verse, other times it’s by sending an old friend to chat with you. Or sometimes you will wait in silence until you hear His peaceful voice. God will never ignore your call.

Made for Another World

Through thick and thin is a lifelong endeavor. Pens run out of ink, seasons change, not a lot can survive through thick and thin. If you want to indulge yourself with finding something that is never going to cease to exist there’s only one thing to do, remove your eyes from items that run out of batteries and look to the unending Lord. As it says in 1 Peter 1:24-25, “For all people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

If this concept is hard to grasp let me help you curious cats like myself out there. How does the enduring word of the Lord help me in this chaotic world?  It’s because the Word instills hope, the continual hope of heaven with Christ. This is not a brief visit but a forever one. No more competitions or weight loss challenges, but peace in heaven forevermore. C.S. Lewis said, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we are made for another world.”

It’s Hot Dog Time

Hot dog! This hot dog that is on the barbecue is going to taste so great, I’m going to just love it. Well, maybe using “love” is a little dramatic...instead I should say this hot dog will bring my tummy and taste buds a lot of joy.

Often we carelessly use the word love without truly understanding its meaning. The emotion carries so much weight that it has many different descriptions to express its characteristics. For example agape is the love of God, it is something that cannot be erased or lost. Now, we could never use this word to demostrate our adoration of a hot dog! This is the highest form of love, it selfless and unconditional. How wonderful it is to know that our Heavenly Father has this love for us and sticks with us through the thick and thin.

Another definition is philia, which is usually translated as “brotherly love” and “friendship”. It is the feeling of compassion, respect, and care for others. When we see our neighbors in need we help them without expecting anything in return. We cheer for our friends for the good, and pray for them through the bad. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

So the next time you are waiting in a long line and impatiently tapping your toes, ask yourself if you are showing love for your fellow man. Or the next time a friend is in need of fellowship, invite them over and split a hot dog with them! Not only will they cherish the time of friendship, they will also really enjoy the hot dog.

Kitties in Karate

Doggies don’t meow and kittys don’t fend for you.

Naturally life is life. Yet looking past the normal occurrences such as the morning sunrises and evening sunsets we see a being who has this ability to change it all up. Through this power He can make a little kitten as fierce as a lion! 

Jesus is offering you His comfort during your plight. God has graciously given us access to the power of Christ as it says in Ephesians 3:20 “now to Him who is able to do exceedingly above all we ask or think, according to the power that works in us”. This correlates with Him working in us during our trials. Ask and you will receive, however, this does not suggest that the Lord will instantly erase all of your problems. Yet, He does answer our prayers (thought it might not seem like it at the time) through His peace. Ask the Lord for encouragement during uncomfortable issues of life and you will find peace in Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

So pray about your doggie meowing and your kitty doing a karate kick.  

And call me if your cat busts out a karate chop and your dog lets out a purrrrrrrrr.

How Wide, How Long, How High and How Deep

Feeling frail or feeble, not finding peace with the distractions of this world? Are you finding a temporary joy in Earthly things but notice how it all falls apart when something chaotic occurs? That thing that once put a smile on your chubby cheeks is suddenly gone and now you feel alone again.

Empty, sad, and incomplete.

Yet there is a something that you can grasp far better than anything on Earth. It does not include wealth, or the perfect body, it is Jesus! Lovingly Christ gave up His life for our future where we can grasp everlasting happiness all thanks to Him!  When you accept Jesus into your life you will discover a new type of peace and joy that is never quenched by the trials of life. As it says in Ephesians 3:16-19, “I pray that from His glorious unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him...may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His Love is. May you experience the love of Christ...Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God”.

Forgive then Forget

"I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.“

Isaiah 43:25

We’re even Steven.

Let no grief or hidden grudges persist, rather one should have a clean slate. Let all these treacherous feelings be drained out and become purified. When we take our eyes off ourselves and pivot them to Christ Jesus we can see the unblemished mark of forgiveness. This is a gift not delivered by itself but comes along with forgetting. 

The Almighty Jesus died on the cross to forgive all of our sins. He delivered the passcode to unlock, the safe containing mercy, for HE gave us the ability to refine ourselves. The only way to unlock the chamber of freedom (which was once locked shut by our own sins) is with Jesus. Forgiveness helps you experience life; the door is finally beginning to open.

As Jesus pardoned our sins with His death, he brought us to a renewed life. Hebrews 8:12 says, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more.” Therefore, He erases all memories of our past sin. Note: while we are forgiven it is not implying that we can just continue with our sinful ways. Rather we are to live a righteous life and follow the path of the Lord. 

So, since we are forgiven we can continue holding grudges and living in sin? Sorry to break this to you but not quite, Since you discoverd Jesus this transfers a new sense within your own heart, the Spirit lives within you attempting to encourage you through the Bible and directs you away from sin. 

Find Your Inner Shark

Remove your scuba gear and swim as fierce as a shark, not like a baby tadpole living in fear of a bigger fish swiftly gobbling you up with ease. 

Be like a shark and swim smoother and speedier, be strong and courageous by having Christ in your heart. This is the first step for many blessings, and one is knowledge of the glorious things to come. It says in Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Now just think how excited we become when we receive a small and slender gift on earth, we can only dream how incredible the blessings in heaven will be.

Remember when trouble takes over don’t be like the tadpol swimming in terror, be brave in Christ and remember we have a comforter to cry to, our Lord Jesus. We can pray to Him during all times, whether it be during chaos or during the various kool breezes.