Wait on the Lord

You must be wondering, why a fly swatter? It is one of those amazing stories that I love to share with others. It all started one day in my kitchen. I see a fly that somehow got indoors and he is right in my sight. "It is time", I tell myself, "to get rid of this pesky fly!". So I immediately get out the fly swatter and start going after him. I see him land then I swat and he flies away. Again I see him land and I swat and he flies away. This goes on and on. I am literally chasing this guy around my kitchen. Then I sense the Lord telling me, "stand still and wait". "Okay, God I can just stand here." I am obedient and just as I think that this has been long enough, I see the fly land right in front of me on the counter. I then sense the Lord telling me, "Now!". I swat and got the fly. I am so excited and as I go to clean up the dead fly off the counter, I sense the Lord teaching me a valuable lesson. He tells me, "That is what I want you to do in life. I want you wait and when I tell you to move, then you move." I was dumbfounded! It made so much sense to me. I had been chasing flies in my life and not allowing God to lead me. I was so humbled by this experience and realized that all God wants me to do is wait for Him and He will tell me when he wants me to take action. Just like in Psalm 27:14 "Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord." What a wonderful life lesson that God showed me through the fly swatter.

Question: Have you swatted flies in your spiritual journey? What lesson can you apply to your life from this story.

Shipwrecked

"Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked." 1 Timothy 1:19

Paul writes that there are some people that are no longer walking in faith, and he called it being "shipwrecked". This made me think about the conditions that happen when being shipwrecked. The first condition that would be necessary for a shipwreck,  is a storm or conditions in life that we would consider challenging. Just like the "Perfect Storm" when three major weather conditions collide over the Atlantic. The second condition that would need to happen is to have the weather overcome the ship and it lose control. Now, all sense of safety is now gone and one would need to face the elements and try to find safety elsewhere.  To have my faith be shipwrecked is to be out of safety and be lost. Faith is my ship that keeps me safe on the waters of life. Sometimes the waters are calm and sailing is smooth. But it is certain  that the storms will eventually come. During those storm conditions, it is important to stay in the ship of faith. When we try to do things our way, and we take things under our own hands, then you face the elements by yourself and may find yourself shipwrecked. How can we stay in our ship? We need to use the compass of our own conscience. We know right from wrong and the Holy Spirit that is within us, will give us those warning signals that tells us that we need to be careful, that we are drifting off course and there may be a dangerous reef ahead. Let us all watch ourselves and listen to our conscience and keep the faith under all circumstances. But if we do drift off God's course, we may find ourselves stranded and so far away from truth and God.

Question: Are you currently in storm conditions right now? How can you handle the next perfect storm in your life? Are you in need of a course correction today? How does this apply to you right now?

Spiritual Training

"Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. " 1 Timothy 4:8

As I got up this morning and did my devotions in 1 Timothy, I was shown this passage. I meditated on the phrase "physical training and thought about how much effort goes into the PT in the military. The men and women get up early in the morning before their day starts and they begin to exercise. It doesn't matter how they feel, they just do it because it is part of their training. It is like the Nike phrase, "Just Do It!". These soldiers go for endurance, strength and self discipline. Physical training does not happen in one day or when ever the soldiers feel like doing it, but it occurs day after day in commitment to the effort of training. What one does in the military for physical training is what we need to be doing to train ourselves in "godliness". I think about getting up in the morning for devotions and sometimes, I just don't feel like it. Sometimes I want to sleep in and I am just plain tired. But what could happen is that I could get complacent and skip a day or two. But training takes commitment day after day. It means that I need the self discipline to do my devotions and pray, even thought I don't really feel like it. I think it is like going to the gym. I have a hard time getting from my home to the fitness center, but once I get there and work out, I feel great afterwards and with a sense of accomplishment. I cannot base my relationship to God on how I feel, for all I need to do is to go to Him in study and prayer and God will do the rest. What is important, is that I have to do my part by seeking Him and God will do the rest. So, I think about physical training and know that I do the same for my spiritual training. I need commitment, I need to be consistent and I need to put out a lot of energy to run this race. Sometimes I think it that spiritual training is hard work and I struggle with it, but I know that is is just what the Lord wants me to do. When I study and pray in my devotion time and find myself in the presence of the Living God, I never want to leave! I love being in His presence and He fills me so much with His love. It is about the relationship with Him and the process I have to go through to get there may be tough, like physical training in the military, but it is so worth it.

Question: Are you struggling with your spiritual training and trying to stay on course? What can you do better, to help you be more disciplined that will help you run this race? Are you willing to do your part, so God can do His part?

Fourth of July

May God Bless America! I am so grateful on the Fourth of July, for the men and women that are serving or have served in the Armed Forces. I am grateful that so many have served our country to  give us the freedom that I enjoy today. I am grateful to those brave men and women whom gave their lives for freedom, and those that suffered some type of physical or mental disabilities due to their serving their country. May the Lord comfort and support all those in the military, those that are retired military and all the families that have given so much of their family time to give to our great nation. We are truly blessed to live in a country where we have religious freedom and so many that are living in foreign countries,  are being persecuted because of their faith. We are truly blessed to live in the United States of America and I thank God for the freedom that we have.