What would our world be like if we looked at things through the eyes of a child? Jesus talked about our own personal need to have faith like a child. “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” (Mark 10:14-15 New Living Translation) I realize that God wants me to grow to a place of spiritual maturity, and that place of developed maturity includes a tender heart - like a child. Our four year old daughter and two year old son don't understand the phrases, "There's not enough," or, "We're out of that." Puzzled looks come on their faces when they hear those words. Wow! The first time I shared this news with them I was perplexed by their simple, yet powerful response to my "bad news." They just waited for more food. Smart children! I was the one learning that day. I learned the truth that God doesn't run out of anything. He is our supply! Fast forward to more recently, we had frozen pizza for dinner and when we were done eating our first pizza, we were still hungry. Not to fear - we simply opened our freezer drawer and grabbed another pizza and put it in the oven. That was our pizza supply "storehouse." God's supply storehouse is far bigger than what our freezer drawer can hold. He doesn't want us to go without any good thing. He is our Father, and He loves us. Yes, He loves us enough to take care of our needs, even the pizza drawer supply. Where there is a need, He has a supply. "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."(Philippians 4:19 New King James Version) We should daily adopt the attitude of a child. When we have a need, we are to look to our Heavenly Father, for He already has a supply to meet our need! Don't settle for "not enough." We serve the God of more than enough. That's our Heavenly Father! When we ask Him for help, we will receive from Him, the help that we need. Ask and we shall receive. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:7-11 New King James Version) Until next time ... Adam
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Thank you for supporting my first blog post yesterday! :-) I was both surprised and humbled that so many friends took the time to read what I wrote. I would love for you to comment and share from your own journey when something I share blesses your heart. I do have the comment section filtered through my approval because there are many internet spammers out there that have nothing better to do than post weird things on blogs. Strange, but true! Please feel free to share this blog with friends and family if you believe they will be blessed by it. Just don't spam anyone! Don't be THAT person. Ha Ha :-) Why am I writing? Simply, because I need to. I've had so much inside of my soul: words, ideas, messages, songs, parenting truths, leadership nuggets, etc. bottled up for so long, and I believe sharing it will bless others that are of "like mind and heart." I've always struggled with the desire to write, and the obvious negative vulnerability it opens me up to. I'm being brave and trusting God's plan in this step of faith. When we confront what's real... what is happening right now... then we are a candidate to receive God's grace and mercy in that area of our life. He will even show us the way out of a situation, if that's what's needed. Psalm 34:18 • New Living Translation (NLT)18 "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." It's amazing how God speaks to our hearts, and showers us in love on our days of distress. He brings peace to our troubled minds. Isn't that great news?! God is speaking - ALL of the time! We just aren't listening. Or if we listen, it's half hearted. We can also filter things through our own situations. Whether it's a need we're facing, a hurt we're feeling, an offense we're reeling from, or a personal character attack, we can let those things be the filter to God's pure voice. But we need to let the Word of the Lord break down our "situational filters" and receive His Word in beautiful simplicity. When I purpose to slow down (and that's hard for me) and seek God's direction, I find 99.9% of the time he graciously repeats what He has previously spoken to me about. When He spoke the first time, I didn't do what He said. I find myself repenting a lot. That's okay. That's reality. That's relationship. If I mess up, I'm going to own it and ask for His forgiveness. And the good news is, GOD FORGIVES ME! And He will forgive you too! All you have to do is ask. Then we can all step into His amazing grace and do what He's instructed us to do. It's really a win / win! Seek Him first. (Matthew 6:33) I hope you enjoy the song at the top of my post. God's love truly came down and rescued me from a personal pit of pain, distress, and sorrow. He has set my feet up on the ROCK. I can say boldly that, "I am His, and He loves me - completely!" Until next time... Adam Music often expresses what my heart can't.
It happens to me all the time. I'll be listening to a song, and it resounds with my soul, and my tear ducts begin to work as I'm simply overwhelmed. I assure you, my tear ducts work perfectly well! At times, much to my embarrassment. But I've learned to just "flow" with it. I've learned that if we don't express what's in our soul, we become very "clogged" emotionally. Walls begin to go up, and our heart can become hardened by an image of ourselves that we're religiously clinging to. You know that image... the one of learned Christian perfection? Our hands raised at just the right times. Clapping along in perfect rhythm with the music. Smiling. Singing along with the worship leader. PRETENDING that all is well in our life. But... God sees beyond that. He desires that we worship Him in spirit and in truth. When a song speaks to our heart, and we respond in truth, we will open ourselves up to the healing power of the Holy Spirit. He wants to minister to our hearts. He wants to heal our wounds. He wants to set us free... especially from ourselves. I love that in our "prayer closet" or personal times of worship, the Holy Spirit ministers to our hearts. It could be through a song, or a scripture, or a testimony and we can truly be FREE to express our heart to Him. Tears are okay. Sobbing is okay. Snot.. well we have tissues for that. Ha! But God isn't scared by our openness. He isn't shocked at our brokenness. He calls us to liberty. He calls us to come to the throne of His grace. You see, His perfect love casts out all fear. He who has been forgiven much, loves much. He who was hardened by the junk of this world, can be softened by His tender mercies in His presence. Tenderness and compassion come from being close to Jesus. This song in the video reminds me of God's heart towards us as His children. He is a GOOD, GOOD FATHER! Until next time... - Adam |
AuthorLiving life as a .... Servant of Jesus Christ, Husband, Father, Son, Brother, Uncle, Friend, Pastor, Missionary, Worshiper, Musician, Vocalist, Encourager. Archives
January 2017
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