To Plan or Not to Plan?

What is your plan today? If we want to get something done, we need a plan. And sometimes, like in a family, you have to share your plan so everyone knows what is going on. My wife, on a Saturday, has a plan. And me, well I'm a big part of that plan, especially if it means there is some stuff to do around the house. But how am I going to help her be successful, if I don't know the plan? Did you know that God has a plan? That's right, He isn’t just winging it. He's not flying by the seat of His pants. He has a plan. Sometimes I hear people say, "Well we don't really know what God's plans are." But Amos 4:13 says, "For here He is! He formed the mountains and created the wind. He reveals his plans to men." Okay, so God is revealing His plan to us, so maybe we don't know His plan because we aren't looking for His plan. Ask God today about His plan. This world could use some cleaning; there are some chores to do, people to get into the church, people who need money and help, people who need love. God has a plan for you. Yep. And it's a good life. Now go get it.

Hello? Where’d You Go?

Are you listening to this? Well, sure you are. How long can we listen to something? I mean the teacher starts teaching, and a few minutes later you’re off in your mind, or worse, sleeping. Hey over here, pssst, listen up. If you're sleeping during this, well wake up, especially if you’re driving. Joel 1:2 says, "Listen to this, you elders; pay attention, all inhabitants of the land." After saying this, He goes on to tell you what God is saying. Of course the entire Bible, cover to cover is God speaking to us, so here in Joel we get God saying, "Hey, listen up." Don't be distracted or you may miss what I'm trying to tell you. HA! Even thousands of years ago people were distracted, and well, so are we still today. Then God was speaking and not everyone was listening. So the question then becomes, are you listening? I don't just mean to the radio either. I mean, are you listening to what God is saying. Are we too distracted with life noise, TV, billboards, too distracted to slow down and read our Bibles and go to church? God wants to speak to you today, so listen up. Hey, where’d you go? Come back, come back. I’m talking here, hello?

Root for Fruit

Colossians 2:6 says, "Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in him and firm in your faith…" Okay, so was it important that you received Christ? Well, yeah. Would you say it was one of the most important and best decisions you ever made? You would say, "Uh huh, you bet!" Okay, so this Scripture tells us that in the same way you received Christ, you should also live your lives in Him, rooted and built in Him. What does it mean to be in Him?  Okay, well, what does it mean to have Him in you? To be in Him is to be in His body, which is the church. You see, Colossians is a letter to the church. He was saying, stay connected to the church, stay in it. It’s the body of Christ. Psalms 92 describes us as a tree that gets planted. And where?  It says to be planted in the House of the Lord. Rooted. Ah yes, where your roots are, this is a big deal. Having a church body is important. Even if you don't perfectly agree with it, go and love anyway. If you don't have a church, then get one. Once you have one, stop moving around so much, plant deep.

No More Flu for You

Did you know that God's original design did not include sickness? The Garden of Eden had a lot of stuff: flowers, trees, fruit, streams filled with gold, animals… but it did not have the flu. The flu and the chicken pox come into play after Adam and Eve ate the fruit. Now, God isn't the creator of the measles, but He can heal. As Jesus walked with us, He healed all who came to Him. And even before Christ bore our sicknesses on the cross, David was praying for healing. In Psalms 30:2, he says, “O LORD my God, I cried out to you and you healed me.” Well here it is. Not only was David bold enough to cry out for healing, but he was healed. What’s the secret? Well, it was to cry out to God for healing. It starts with who you look to. If you look to medicine, well it might help with the symptoms, but that isn't healing. Jesus heals. What kind of health issues have we decided are things we just have to live with? Start today by asking God. You might say, “Well, I’ve already tried that.”  Cool, try again, and again, and again. Persevere. Be patient. And mostly, do not doubt God, but believe He has already done it.

Be Teachable

Proverbs 16:18 tells us that "Pride goes before destruction." Okay, so if you want or need more destruction in your life, what you really want is some pride. What is pride? Sometimes people mistake pride for confidence or courage. But this cannot be right, since God commanded us to have courage, and certainly Jesus was very confident, as He taught with authority. Norman Vincent once said that "humble people don't think less of themselves... they just think of themselves less." Proverbs 11:2 says, "With humility comes wisdom." Humility allows you to learn. This means that pride will not allow you to learn. You see pride is when you are no longer teachable, this happens when you think you already know everything. It’s when we respond by saying, “I already know this.”  If you already know everything, then wise council will mean nothing. Even the Word won't be able to get inside and change you; as you live knowing everything, your pride will go right into destruction. Be teachable, listen to others, and pay attention to wisdom from grandparents, parents, peers, pastors and elders. Jesus informs us that even the children can teach us something. I’ve read all the books, and you can trust me, I know everything. Oh wait, uh no I don’t.

More Bad News?

Watch the news for more than five minutes, and you’re thinking, “Man, this place is getting pretty messed up.” But you know, “things getting messed up” isn't new. It was tough when you grew up, and now we worry about the next generation. But the next generation isn't the first to have it hard, and it won't be the last. Judges 10:6 says, "The Israelites again did evil in the LORD's sight." Again? Yeah, again. Like they did some evil before, then they hit the bottom, because you know everything gets worse when we leave God. So later, the people would return to God, and then things would get better. When the people would return to God, the blessings would return. So we can see that God is a god who makes things better. Do we want things to get better? Well yeah, okay, so the key is to get more of God into our land, and more of the people’s hearts into God. That may seem like a lot, but it isn’t. You can make a difference. We don’t want to be an “again they did evil” kind of people. We want to be the generation that is known as the one that turned to the Lord. Share the love of Christ with someone today.