The Best Way to Face Life

Everyone's life is only a breath.  Psalm 39:11

In a life marked by doctor's appointments  dentist appointments, and school appointments, there is one appointment that none of us will miss, the appointment with death.  "Everyone must die once and be judged"  (Hebrews 9:27).  Oh, how we'd like to change that verse.  Just a word or two suffice.  "Nearly everyone must die..." or "Everyone but me must die..." or "Everyone who forgets to eat right and take vitamins must die..."  But those are not God's words.  In his plan everyone must die, even those who eat right and take their vitamins.

Excersice may buy us a few more heartbeats.  medicine may grant us a few more breaths.  But in the end, there is and end.  And the best way to face life is to be honest about death.

Try Again

"We worked hard all night...and we caught nothing."  Luke5:5

Do you have any worn, wet, empty nets?  Doyou know the feeling of a sleepless, fishless night?  Of course you do.  For what have you been casting?  Solvency?  "My debt is an anvil around my neck..." 

Faith? "I want to believe, but.."

Healing? "I've been sick so long..."

A happy marriage?  "No matter what I do..."

I've worked hard all night and caught nothing. 

You've felt what Peter felt.  You've sat where Peter sat.  And now Jesus is asking you to go fishing.  He knows your nets are empty.  He knows your heart is weary.  He knows you'd like nothing more than to turn your back on the mess and call it a life.

But he urges, "It's not too late to try again."

See if Peter's reply wont help you formulate your own.  "You say to put the nets in the water, so I will"  (Luke 5:5)

He’s There All The Time

I did not say . . . , “Seek Me in vain.” —Isaiah 45:19

 

I’ll never forget my frustrating experience when I went to Chicago’s Union Station early one morning to pick up an elderly relative who was arriving by train. When I got there, she wasn’t where I thought she would be. With increasing anxiety I scoured the place—to no avail. Thinking she had missed her train, I was about to leave when I glanced down a hallway toward the baggage area. There she was, luggage at her feet, patiently waiting for me to arrive. She had been there all the time. And, to my chagrin, she was right where she was supposed to be.
It’s that way with God. He’s there, patiently waiting for us. He assures us, “I did not say . . . , ‘Seek Me in vain’” (Isa. 45:19). Why, then, do we often have trouble finding Him? Probably because we are looking in all the wrong places.
You’ll find Him right where He is supposed to be—in His Word, in prayer, and in the voice of the Holy Spirit who lives within you. The God who says “seek, and you will find” (Matt. 7:7) also promises that “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). So, you can rejoice that God is right where He is supposed to be, and He’s waiting for you right now.

The Lord is near to all who call;
He promised in His holy Word
That if we will draw near to Him,
Our faintest heartcry will be heard. —Hess

Have we been looking for God in all the wrong places?

 

[By Joe Stowell from the pages of Our Daily Bread.]

 



Fija tu mirada en JESUS

"...y corramos con perseverancia la carrera que tenemos por delante...fijemos la mirada en Jesús, el iniciador y *perfeccionador de nuestra fe"  Hebreos 12:1-2

Muchas mañanas me arrastro de la cama y salgo a la calle...corro porque no me gustan los cardiólogos.  Al salir el sol, yo voy corriendo.  Y al ir corriendo, mi cuerpo empieza a gemir.  No quiere cooperar.  Me empiezan a doler las rodillas.  Me duelen las caderas.  Mis tobillos se quejan...

Todo me duele,  Y al dolerme todo, he aprendido que tengo tres opciones.  Irme a la cama.  Meditar en mis dolores hasta llegar a pensar que me esta doliendo el pecho.  O puedo seguir corriendo y empezar a ver el sol salir...Y al ver el mundo de Dios ir de la obscuridad a la luz, adivina que?  Lo mismo sucede con mi actitud.  El dolor pasa y mis coyunturas se aflojan...todo se mejora al fijar mis ojos en la salida del sol.

No era eso siempre el consejo que encontramos en Hebreos "fija tu mirada en Jesús"?

Imagine Being Adopted by God!

Jesus said, ‘Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.’ You need to become a little child again, to allow yourself the kind of relationship with the Lord that you may have missed; to allow Him to heal and adjust the damaged places of your past. God provides arms that allow adults to climb up like little children and be nurtured through the pain of earlier days. The new birth gives you a chance to start over. God will not abuse you when you come to Him. Through praise, you approach Him like a toddler on unskilled legs. In worship, you kiss His face and are held securely in His embrace. He has no ulterior motive, for His embrace is safe. That’s why it’s important that you learn how to worship and adore Him. Even if you were exposed to grown-up situations when you were a child, God can reverse what you’ve been through. Here’s what He told His people: ‘I passed by and saw you kicking about…and as you lay there…I said to you, ‘Live!’ I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew up and developed and became…beautiful…I…covered your nakedness. I…entered into a covenant with you…and you became mine. I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you. I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put leather sandals on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments’ (Ezekiel 16:6-10 NIV). And God can do that for you too.

Cuando Cruces las Aguas yo Estare Contigo

"Cuando cruces las aguas, yo estare contigo; cuando cruces los rios, no te cubriran sus aguas;  cuando camines por el fuego, no te quemaras ni te abrasaran las llamas"  Isaias 43:2

 

 

Dios sabe lo que es mejor. Ninguna lucha pondrá en el camino aparte de su propósito, su presencia y autorización. ¿Qué estímulo trae esto! Tu nunca has sido víctima de la naturaleza o la presa del destino. Probabilidad se elimina. Tú eres más que una veleta azotada por los vientos de la fortuna. ¿Dios realmente se abandona a los caprichos de los ladrones enloquecidos por drogas, codiciosos invasores corporativos, o líderes malignos? Perezca el pensamiento!

Vivimos bajo la palma de la mano protectora de un rey soberano que supervisa todas las circunstancias de nuestra vida y se deleita en hacernos bien.

Nada viene a tu camino que no haya pasado primero por el filtro de su amor.

God Is With Us.

"She will have a son, and she will name him Immanuel."

Isaiah 7:14

God's treatment for insignificance won't lead you to a bar or dating service, a spouse or social club.  God's ultimate cure for the common life takes you to a manger.  The babe of Bethlehem.  Immanuel.  Remember the promise of the angel?  "'The virgin will be pregnant.  She will have a son, an they will name him Immanuel,' which means 'God is with us'"  (Mathew 1:23).

Immanuel.  The name appears in the same Hebrew form as it did two thousand years ago.

"Immanu" means "with us."  "El" refers to Elohim, or God.  Not an "above us God" or a "somewhere in the neighborhood God."  He came as the "with us God."  God is with us.

Not "God is with the rich" or "God is with the religious."  But God is with us.  All of us.  Russians, Germans, Mexicans, Buddhists, Morons, truck drivers and taxi drivers, librarians.  God is with us.