Meant to Live

I think that God truly loves to hear the prayers of children- especially when they mess up. Have you ever read some of the bloopers that kids have made of the Lord's Prayer? Here are a few: "Give us this steak and daily bread, and forgive us our mattresses." Or: "Give us this day our jelly bread." These children must have been hungry.

Then there's the heartfelt prayer of a brother wanting to get his sister into trouble:

"Lead a snot into temptation."

But my all-time favorite is the petition of the pre-schooler:

"Our Father, who art in Heaven, how didja know my name?"

In the mind of this little one is a big mystery: how can Someone whom he has never met before possibly know his name? So naturally it would make sense to ask this since he was checking in anyway.

What I like best about that boy's inquiry is that it is a great reminder of the same wonder and curiosity that we should have towards God. Remember when we first trusted in Him? Everything was a completely cool discovery- like the way the Bible seemed to speak to exactly what we were going through, and the strangest ways that God would meet our deepest needs...almost like He was with us wherever we went. Oh yeah- can you also recall how blown away you were that the God of the Universe knew you before you were even born, knew how sinful you were then, and still died on the cross for you?

Then, little by little...sermon by sermon...meeting by meeting- the marvel of the Majesty of the King melted into a matter-of-fact mutual relationship that is more 'mature' now. You just don't seem so excited to pick up that Bible because there are so many other things that are more entertaining. And prayer? Mostly now it's when you're either in trouble, or sick, or both. Your perception of the Almighty has been reduced to a vending machine who dispenses grandfatherly advice and gives you the loose change out of His pockets.

But remember - He still knows your name...

In fact, He knows everything about you. Want proof? Here you go:

I'm an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I'm thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I'm never out of your sight. You know everything I'm going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you're there, then up ahead and you're there, too -- your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful -- I can't take it all in!

Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit? to be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky, you're there! If I go underground, you're there! If I flew on morning's wings to the far western horizon, You'd find me in a minute--you're already there waiting! Then I said to myself, "Oh, he even sees me in the dark! At night I'm immersed in the light!" It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you; night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to you.

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God--you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration--what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day.

Your thoughts--how rare, how beautiful! God, I'll never comprehend them! I couldn't even begin to count them--any more than I could count the sand of the sea. Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you! (Psalm 139:3-18)

In a nutshell- "Our Father, who art in heaven, how didja know so much about me?"

For some, this might be scary. For others, it is 'too wonderful'. Maybe that's because for some- the fact that God knows all this and is still crazy about us is the greatest news in the universe. How could you ever grow tired of that?!?

I guess that all depends on where you are in your relationship with your Creator.

If you have misplaced some of your primary passion, my suggestion to you would be to bring back some of that curiosity and inquisitiveness that you first had as a new Christian. It's no wonder that unbelievers aren't attracted to Christ when they meet 'older' believers - would you be? Ah, but then there's the ones whose hearts still leap for joy at the Name of Jesus. They are still in awe that they can read the love letter from God called the Bible. Their enthusiasm just pours out, and it is like a drink of water for a spiritually parched population.

Begin today to rekindle the same amazement at the works and words of the God who became a man- otherwise you may find on Judgment Day that Jesus really doesn't know your name!

Here Comes The Judge

I recently read a story about an engineer who was giving evidence in court about an accident he had witnessed.

Judge: "How far away do you think you were from the crash scene?"

Engineer: "Twenty-seven feet, six-and-one-half inches."

Judge: "That's amazing! But how can you be so sure of that distance?"

Engineer: "Well, I knew some idiot would ask me. So I measured it!"

Wait a minute, who's the idiot here? Perhaps this would have been an amusing exchange between friends, but probably not such a great idea when talking to a person who has the power to throw you in jail without blinking.

Perhaps the engineer forgot that he was in a court of law- or maybe he spaced out what kind of authority a judge carries. Either way, this person definitely suffers from being what I would call 'consequence challenged': a condition where a person has no clue whatsoever of the potential results of his/her words and actions.

The Bible says that one day we will "all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies." (II Corinthians 5:10).

In other words, every Christian has an appointment to stand before the Judge of the universe. It would be a very smart thing to not be 'consequence challenged' that day, because the impact of our day in court will last for eternity.

If the engineer had realized what kind of person he was standing before, I'm sure he would have prepared differently...how about you? The difference is that you know what God is like, so start preparing today!

But just in case you need a refresher course- meet the Judge:

And standing in the middle of the lampstands was the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were bright like flames of fire. His feet were as bright as bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was as bright as the sun in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. (Revelation 1:13-17)

A little different than the wimpy white looking Jesus that Hollywood created-eh? Think you're going to run up to Jesus on Judgment day and jump in His lap? I seriously doubt it. As for me, I expect to do the same as the Apostle John: "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead".

Having an eye towards that that awesome event just may be one of the most motivating factors in the Christian life.

Want to be ready? Start by getting to know the Judge by talking to Him all day long and listening to His Word. Get out of bed each morning knowing that today could be your court date, and you certainly don't want to be caught 'consequence challenged'!

source: http://www.dare2share.org/devotions/here-comes-the-judge/

Miracles In The Bible

A newly converted hippie was very interestedly reading the Bible while waiting for transportation and every now and then would exclaim, “Alleluia, Praise the Lord, Amen” and on and on as he read on. A skeptic heard him and came and asked what he was reading. He answered” I am reading how God parted the red sea and let the Israelites go through–that is a miracle!” The skeptic explained “Do not believe everything the Bible tells you. The truth of the matter is that that body of water was only really 6 inches deep– so it was not miracle.” The hippie nodded in disappointment but kept on reading as the skeptic was walking away feeling proud that he had set the hippie straight. All of a sudden the skeptic heard the hippie let out a big “Alleluia, PTL”. At this the skeptic came back to him and asked, “What is it this time?” The hippie said excitedly in one breath, “This one is a real miracle, God drowned the whole Egyptian army in 6 inches of water!!!”

source: http://www.inspirationalarchive.com/154/miracles-in-the-bible/

Your Angel

Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born. So one day he asked God: “They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?”

God replied, “Among the many angels, I chose one for you. She will be waiting for you and will take care of you.”

“But tell me, here in Heaven, I don’t do anything else but sing and smile, that’s enough for me to be happy.”

“Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you every day. And you will feel your angel’s love and be happy.”

“And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me, if I don’t know the language that men talk?”

“Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.”

“And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?”

“Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.”

“I’ve heard that on earth there are bad men. Who will protect me?”

“Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life.”

“But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.”

“Your angel will always talk to you about me and will teach you the way for you to come back to me, even though I will always be next to you.”

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from earth could already be heard, and the child in a hurry asked softly:

“Oh God, if I am about to leave now, please tell me my angel’s name.”

“Your angel’s name is of no importance, you will call your angel: Mommy.”

Author Unknown
Submitted by Richard

source: http://www.inspirationalarchive.com/269/your-angel/

Judge Me by the Footprints I Leave Behind

A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam.

He called his parents from San Francisco.

“Mom and Dad, I’m coming home, but I’ve got a favor to ask. I have a friend I’d like to bring with me.”

“Sure,” they replied, “we’d love to meet him.”

“There’s something you should know the son continued, “he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mined and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live.”

“No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us.”

“Son,” said the father, “you don’t know what you’re asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can’t let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He’ll find a way to live on his own.”

At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him.

A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn’t know, their son had only one arm and one leg.

The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don’t like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren’t as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are.

Thankfully, there’s someone who won’t treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.

Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer that God will give you the strength you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are different from us!!!

There’s a miracle called -Friendship- that dwells in the heart. You don’t know how it happens or when it gets started. But you know the special lift It always brings and you realize that Friendship Is God’s most precious gift!

Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us.

source: http://www.inspirationalarchive.com/520/judge-me-by-the-footprints-i-leave-behind/

A Rainbow

As we have opportunity, let us do good to all.
GALATIANS 6:10

A rainbow is a sign of God’s promise never again to destroy the earth by flood. But that was little comfort to the people of Grand Forks, North Dakota, in April of 1997. Eight blizzards, an ice storm, spring rains, and an early thaw had relocated their comfortable homes, schools, stores, and churches into a world of water.

Hal Olsen, the disaster relief coordinator for International Aid, immediately arranged to “flood” the area with eight truck loads of life-sustaining supplies and gospel tracts. They were distributed by churches in the region.

One man was deeply affected by his help. He had been very hostile to a church across the street from his house and even tried to block it from being built in his neighborhood. But when he saw how the church responded to people in need, he said tearfully, “Now I’ve seen the church outside its walls.”

We must not be content to stay within the walls of our church. We need to execute God’s love in word and deed outside the walls – to ALL people.

Too often we get caught up in our own little world and forget all the people around us that are in need. It is easy to talk about statistics but it takes effort and heart to help others in need.

There are many ways in which we can help others. We can take time to talk to someone who is going through difficult times, we can donate food and clothing to institutions that distribute them to needy people in the community. By giving our 10% in church, we help those who are ministering God’s word in this country and the world.

God gives us so many blessings. It is our responsibility to give back so that others can know of his love and mercy.

Have a great day!

Author Unknown
Submitted by Richard

source: http://www.inspirationalarchive.com/503/a-rainbow/

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