Awake At 30

Who Am I? "Then King David went in and sat before the Lord; and he said: “Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?..." (2 Sam.7:18) When we consider God sent His only Begotten Son to die for our sins, don't we ask the same humble and sobering question "Who am I, Lord?" God has sustained my life and yours to this point in time. Dwell on that rich thought for a while... "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2Pet.3:9) Do we recognize the blessing of each moment of each day the Lord gives us? "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ di...

The Lord Will Make A Way "So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon. And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again ...

Giving Of Thanks "Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!" (Ps.105:1-4) Need a new holiday tradition? Sing praises of thanks to God today, Christians! Consider how we're blessed! "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms." (Jms.5:13) What a blessing to be able to praise God with our loved ones surrounding us! I have to brag on my wife -- though our plans changed for this holiday rather quick, she has handled the changes beautifully. We went from going out of town to visit family to staying in town and family coming to us. There has been a great deal of preparation involved and she has made it look easy -- all while wrestling  our little man and our other child (of the cani...

Something Within There's something deep within me that burns like wildfire, that yearns to do more, know more, grow more, to be more -- each of these desires in their own way pressing me for more, both as a man and spiritually. As I look to God's word for understanding, I realize that voice inside me is absolutely correct. To be wise. To be true. To be real. Are these not the things which make us as men admirable? Are not these the things of life which give us pause, which give us reason to lift our eyes and our hearts unto Heaven and thank the Lord for the beauty of them. When these facets of life are molded into a perfect unison in our own lives, when they are who we are, then we possess the greatest blessing of all -- we live like Christ. Christ was real - what you saw was what you got. What He believed was what He lived, and He lived it out fully and without reservation. Christ was true - there was no hint of deception nor dishonesty about Him. His words, His actions...

Perspective - Rough Week "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to  be  compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us...Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." (Rom.8:18,37) When times get tough, where do we go? Sometimes it's so easy to only think about your present troubles, those things which are bringing stress and trials your way. I've been thinking all week about this, but as I think here on a Friday my mind goes to my Savior. We often say "I can't wait until the weekend! If I could just get to Friday!" But when I consider my week, it's really nothing in comparison to Jesus. Think you've had a bad week? Think people have treated you ill? Think the stress is too much? Take the time to read Matthew 26-27. Quietly reflect. Take the time to read John 13-20. Quietly reflect. Pray to the Lord and thank Him, ask for guidance, ask for a greater perspective to hand...

Homeless "For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him." (Is.53:2-3) With tear-filled eyes, we consider our Lord and the prophecy of His life here and what He would go through to save us. How do we view those with less of this world's goods, without fine apparel, without the physical characteristics we deem appealing, without hygiene that suits our standards, without family, without money, without [fill in the blank]. How many times have we seen someone homeless and we turn our heads? I have to ask myself, would I have missed my Lord while He was on this earth, considering how I shamefully catch myself tempted to act toward those less fortunate at times? Would I despise t...

Boldness "The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion." (Prov.28:1) "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us." (1Jn.4:17-19) “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!" (Lk.12:4-5) Righteousness, in and of itself, is bold in the eyes of this world. The very act of being what a Christian is supposed to be, is called to be, is boldness to the workers of iniquity. Why? Because light exposes darkness for what it is. Light, by its nature, illuminates ...

Battle "Blessed be the Lord my Rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle— " (Psa.144:1) "Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle." (Psa.24:7-8) Are you ready for a fight today? In the wee hours of the morning I rise before the sun, preparing myself for the day ahead my hands shake and my fingers feel stiff as I pick up my sword. I pray to my God that I will have the strength and presence of mind this day to wield the sword with courage, strength, and precision. My attention goes to strengthening my mind with His word so I may handle this sword with heavenly wisdom, a soldier's unwavering resolve, and with unflinching valiance. We, my God and I, prepare as I listen to my Commander instruct me in the ways I should go. He gives me the path to walk, He lights and leads the way, He prepares my h...

Speak The Same Thing "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." (1Cor.1:10) How can we do this? Man would tell us this is impossible. Ask a group of people to agree to doing something one way and you'll have many variations and ideas. However, when we agree to adhere to the same standard, the word of God, then we can do exactly what this verse says. God even tells us how to do this, observe: "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let  him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen." (1Pet.4:11) "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were calle...