Got the glasses on.......

Good morning everyone! I hope you are having a great weekend. I would like to talk about expectations today and how they can really cause us to struggle. See, here is the thing, our mind will start going a lot fasted than we do. It can't help it. So, if we don't paint or start to paint the picture correctly then if can get way off kilter! The key to all of this is communication. This can be in a friendship, relationship, or even church. Let's dig into the good stuff and see what it says........
 
Bible Verse: Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen

Church! Why do so many have a bad taste in their mouths for church? Well, it's simple, people join churches today with wrong expectations. They think church membership guarantees them blessings and no burdens. We should have a disclaimer when you join the church or when you accept Jesus as your Savior. "Warning: You just made the greatest decision of your life. Remember: Now Satan will come at you harder! Have faith and study to show yourself approved. Armor up!" Some think that God is just like Shoney's or a  buffet. Come get what you want, when you want, how you want, and if you want. Surprise, surprise, when it doesn't work out as they wish or thought, they say, "Well, it's not paying off! I thought if I gave my heart to Jesus, then He would supply everything I want. And I'd have no more worries." People then  fall away because their expectations are not met. Let me tell you what real faith is. Real faith is not just receiving from God the things you want. Real faith is accepting from God the things He gives. How are your spiritual eyeglasses? Are you looking at life with the eyes of the Lord or do you have those DUI glasses on and are stumbling around looking dumb? How about we trust that He will provide, not necessarily what we want, but what we need? Have a great day and God bless.

 

Let's be some iron.........

Good morning! Have you ever sat back and looked at your friends? Or maybe the people that you hang around the most. Are those people instrumental in your life? Do they have influence on you and/or your decisions? Let's be real, is the advice they give you their advice or godly advice? I have called "my" advice, "Tonyism's" in the past. I think we all get can't up in giving our thoughts and not what God would say about the matter. Let's dig into the good stuff and see one of my favorite verses..........

Bible Verse: Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another

True friends will put an edge on your life. They will make you a sharper person. I want to become a razor sharp ninja sword! But, reality is, not all my friends do that for me, but my close friends do. Have you ever had a friend who cares for you so much that they would even hurt you in order to help you? Tell you something that you really don't want to hear? Maybe even tell you that your in the wrong? Proverbs 27:6 says, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." What truer words of love can be spoken than from the heart of a friend who is going to spend an eternity with you? Even if those words hurt, they are words that will heal. I have been blessed with a new partner at work. We started out unsure of one another but, I guess when you spend 12 hours a day with someone you get to know them real quick. I will say that God has blessed me with a solid Christian friend and I look forward to how he will use us to sharpen each other! God knows what we need and when we need it! Do you have a friend who sharpens you? It will only take you a moment to send that friend an encouraging text or a quick phone call. Do it
today. Have a blessed day!!!

Get a bulldog grip...........

Good morning! I am going to continue with the conquering theme! We all have that giant in our lives that we really don't want to deal with. Heck, we may even be frozen in our tracks when it comes to it. The faith of a mustard seed! Have you seen a mustard seed? They are pretty dang small. So, basically it only takes a small amount of true faith for some major things to happen. Let's dig into the good stuff and see what it tells us..........

Bible Verse:  Mark 11:23 "Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him"

Did you ever play "king of the mountain" as a child? When you were on high ground, you could shove the others down, even though they were entrenched and determined to overtake you. In Joshua 14, we read that Caleb faced a city of giants, and yet because he had wholly followed the Lord, he had the strength of the Lord and said, "Give me this mountain" (Joshua 14:11-12). All of us face giants every day - giants of doubt, fear, discouragement, financial ruin, sickness, broken relationships. Do you think the giants in the Promised Land took God by surprise? God knew they were there all the time. They were part of His purpose to strengthen His children's faith. It's time you got a bulldog grip on the Word of God and believe what He says to be true. let's have the faith of a mustard seed and believe our giants will flee from us or be under our feet! have a great and faith filled day!

Be a window.......

Good morning! I was talking to a friend yesterday and just being a sounding board. I must say that people are funny. I mean look at some of the reality shows about people living together and how things can be going good and then all of the sudden...... Dum, dum, dum..... drama! He said, she said, they said! Why do we or can we get caught up in it sometimes. Boy, if life was just rainbows and skittles, we would have it licked! Have you ever showered someone that has hurt you with compliments? Maybe, even make them #1 on your prayer list and not for a meteor to fall out of the sky and crush them, but for them to be blessed! That brings me to today's Bible verse. Let's dig into the good stuff.......

Bible verse: Acts 20:35 "...remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Here is a little check up of our hearts! Let's try this on for size, unhappiness comes from mirrors. Happiness comes from windows.  If you want to be miserable, then think about yourself first...what you want, what people are saying about you, what you ought to have done for you, how down you feel, how good you feel. Just focus on yourself.  Feeling good yet? If you are, then something is wrong. Selfishness and happiness just don't go hand in hand. If you are thinking it is better to receive than to give, you'll never be happy. You'll never experience the blessing of giving that Jesus taught. Hold out your hand and make a fist for at least one minute. Now, relax. Which feels better? Now imagine if your spirit is tight like that and how that will quench His work in your life. Basically, what I'm trying to say is, don't be a tight wad with your dough or your love! To quote Kristian Bush, "You can't take it with you when you go, never seen a hearse with a trailer hitch!" Have a super blessed day today!    

Just a little chiseling.......

Good afternoon! I spent my study time this morning looking at why certain things happen. I mean, why sometimes a Christian is treated different. I know people at my workplace that might say and share that they are Christians with someone they know is a Christian, but when it comes to being open in front of others that might not be, they are closed lipped. Maybe because they don't wish to be persecuted or maybe because they don't want to be held to a higher standard. I am not sure. Heck, maybe for some totally different reasons. Funny thing is, we think persecution is being treated a little different. Try reading "Jesus Freak" and then let's redefine the term "persecuted" a little or a lot! My studies brought me to this verse today and made me sit back and ponder a bit. Let's dig into the good stuff...... 

Bible Verse: John 15:1-2 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He [a]prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

Check this out,  when Solomon built his temple, he employed eighty thousand stonecutters. They chipped and shaped those stones in the quarry before bringing them to the temple mount. Why? Because Solomon didn't want the sound of the hammers and chisels heard on the temple mount. Kinda sounds crazy doesn't it? In the same way, we are part of the living stones of Gods temple and God is shaping us here in the "quarry" of earth. I really think that part of our shaping might be in the form of persecution or maybe hard times. Maybe, the loss of a loved one, job loss, divorce, or maybe even ridicule. So, don't look at your persecutors or the hard times as the enemy, but really as God's stonecutters.

Next time someone comes at you, say "Thank God, another stonecutter." God is shaping us to be what we ought to be. How about we let Him and rejoice in what is to come! I pray you have a great day and God bless!

Might be a hard knock life........

Good morning everyone! Well, the kids are home out of school again due to the weather or should I say possible weather! I'm thinking some cleaning is in order.... Hmmmm..... Picturing a scene from Annie! It might be a hard knock life at The Ruff house today! I want to share a little bit with ya today. Last Sunday, a sweet lady shared a little bit of her testimony with our Sunday school class. I have thought a lot about what she shared this week and this verse has kept popping up in my mind. I know it's one we have all heard a bunch but, I want us to stop and really think about it today! Let's dig into the good stuff.......
 
Bible Verse: Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."
 

Are you in the middle of a troubled time in your life? Here's the thing, you are either in one now, gonna be in one soon, or just coming out of one! That's a fact Jack! Not trying to be all doom and gloom on ya, but if you read this verse and believe it, you can handle a lot more than you think! Remember this, Jesus loves you! So much that he even knows the number of hairs on your head! Our problem is we think that God’s plan for us is always going to be a “feel good” plan with the intent to make us happy. Jeremiah’s message in these verses is actually radically different.  He’s writing to a group of people who are being held captive, and are in exile from their homeland.  He’s writing to let them know that although they’re not where they would have expected, nor where they would have asked God to place them, God has not forgotten them and He still has a plan for their lives. Even in the midst of a difficult situation, God wants them to know His plans.

In the verses just before 11 we see that a big part of God’s plan is for them to “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile” (Jeremiah 29:7).  So, pretty much, God wants them to know that His plans are not just to benefit them personally. God is also telling them that He is not removing them from the situation immediately. So, button down the hatches and put their seatbelts on!  He does promise to eventually restore them, but it’s not coming quickly (70 years out when many of them will be dead).  God is letting them know they can move forward, because in the end, God’s justice will prevail and everything will even out.

I know many of you are in the midst of difficult situations, God wants us to know He has a plan.  He also wants us to know that as we submit to His plan that He desires to use us to bless the world around us, maybe just maybe, we are going through these things to be able to help someone else in the future that is struggling! Let's keep our eyes on the prize embrace the storm. I pray you have a blessed day!

 

Lace up those runnin' shoes.......

Good morning! This blog has been dormant for almost a year and God has laid it on my heart to get it back going again! It's been a hard and trying last couple of years for us and to be honest, I kinda lost a little focus. Well, my God is patient and always had His hand out to help me back up on my feet! So that I could continue running the race He has called me to run. That brings me to today's scripture. Let's dig into the good stuff!

Bible Verse: John 12:24 "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die, it brings forth much fruit." 

You can tell the size of a Christian by what it takes to stop him. Hebrews 12:1 says we are to "run with patience the race that is set before us." And this word "patience" is not used in the sense that we use the word. It literally means "endurance."  Everybody knows that a runner is going to win or lose primarily by his endurance. You cannot quit. When it hurts, you cannot quit. When your lungs are on fire, you cannot quit. When your feet feel like lead, you cannot quit. When your sides ache, you cannot quit! You'll never be a spiritual athlete if you're a quitter! No pain. No gain. God has a purpose for you! He has a plan for you! Now, get to work! Have a great day and God bless!