*Hello, My Name Is: I AM
“…Those who know your name put their trust in you.” Psalm 9:10 Names are important! “SHELDON” GOD names Himself. LORD = YHWH My Lord = Adonai The Revelation of YHWH: Exodus 3:13-15 “I AM WHO I AM.” “I AM has sent me to you.” “Yahweh has sent (Moses) to you . . . this is my name forever.” “I AM WHO I AM”? 1. God Exists. ”God is there.” (HEB 11:6) 2. No Reality Exists Behind God. “The uncaused cause.”…
THE LIES OF BUSYNESS Part 5: “I Have To Fix This All By Myself.”
The Lies of Busyness Recap: 1.”My Busyness Pleases God.” (Build activity around Godly values, not just worldly demands.) 2.”Work and ambition are wrong.” (We want to live in a Mary world with Martha moments, not the other way around.) 3.”There aren’t enough hours in a day.” (Ask God for a heart of wisdom in ordering your days.) 4.”I don’t have time to rest.” (Rest is obedience, worship and trust.) Lie #5: I have to fix this all by myself. Good…
THE LIES OF BUSYNESS Part 4: “I Don’t Have Time To Rest!”
Loosen Your Bow! A permanently bent bow may break. You and I are just like that. We all need time to rest. God’s Word, and God’s World, Both Include Rest. GEN 2:3. God “rested from all His work”. Mark 2:27 “Then Jesus said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath’” Why Rest? Rest is worship. (GEN 2:2, Mark 6:31, PS 46:10) Rest is…
The Lies of Busyness Part 3: “There Aren’t Enough Hours In The Day!”
“There Aren’t Enough Hours in The Day!” Has time turned into a tyrant for you? Why Do We Get Into Trouble with Time? –We get in trouble because of our egos. We overload our schedules to soothe our ego. -We get in trouble because we waste time avoiding important things. Sometimes we waste good time on bad pursuits. -We get in trouble because we are greedy. Beware of a constant lust for “more”. -We get in…
The Lies of Busyness Part 2: “Work and Ambition Are Wrong.”
Martha & Mary (Luke 10:38-42) We live in a Martha world where we fight for Mary moments. Jesus invites us to live in a Mary world with Martha moments. Why did Jesus challenge Martha about her view on work? Martha has poor timing. (EC. 3:9-11) There are two rhythms to following Jesus: service and reflection. (Giving and receiving/work and rest.) Martha is Distracted. (LK. 10:40) We do for God and forget to be with God. We miss opportunities. Try…
The Lies of Busyness Part 1: My Busyness Pleases God
THE LIES OF BUSYNESS Part 1: My Busyness Pleases God How Are You? BUSY! Our World Worships Busyness Ps 39:6 Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. The last thing I want is for most of my life to be pointless in the scope of eternity, but the truth is that much of my busy rushing is pretty pointless.…
Brand New Year, Same Old Me.
God Gives Us A Do-Over Every New Year! Here’s some reasons why resolutions often fail… We’re Stuck in the Shallow End We focus on external change before we address internal issues. (Psalm 32:3) “I am convinced that healing is often so difficult because we don’t want to know the pain.”-Nouwen When God transforms our inner life to be beautiful; our outer life, our choices and our actions will also become beautiful. We Are Lone Rangers Don’t try to do it…
Advent 4: Love Arrives
Advent 4: Love Arrives Hope Is an anchor for our soul, and that anchor is Jesus. God will keep his promises because he kept his promise when Jesus arrived. Peace is offered to us at a great sacrifice, Jesus became our Emmanuel, God with us. The very presence of God is peace for us. Joy arrives when Jesus arrives because He is our whole life. In Him we live and move and have our being. Joy is a…
Advent 3: Joy Arrives!
Advent 3: Joy Arrives! I’m Not Happy with Happiness… Happiness is fickle; can be ruined by a flat tire or a rainy day – circumstantial. Happiness is elusive; it seems the more you try and get it, the harder it is to find. Happiness is fleeting; You can be happy today but it doesn’t seem to last. Happiness is often rooted in the flesh; it’s fickle, elusive and fleeting nature reflects all we are as humans. Joy – Something Different,…
Advent 2: Peace Arrives.
Finished with Peace Behold: The FINISHER! Peace is Hard to Find. It’s hard to find peace when there’s chaos or trouble all around you. Most of us understand that things like peace and freedom and harmony are precious and a gift from God. Also, most of us understand that precious things like peace are not cheap – they can be costly. Peace requires real work in a fallen, sinful world. Peace requires the work of God in our fallen, sinful…