When Words Stand Out

I don’t know how many times I have been asked “how do you study the Bible”. Too many to count.

My answer is always the same; read until it speaks to you.

The Bible is God’s letter to us. He’s writing to let us know how He feels about things, what’s important to Him, who He is and His hopes and dreams for us. This morning it didn’t take long for the words to stand out on the page; words that I have read hundreds of times before but this morning they were fresh and new.

You see the other day I had a couple of friends tell me that their kids and/or grandkids were going through a time where they are mad at God. Circumstances in their life have been horrendous. They have experienced things no one should have to go through, and they are holding God responsible for the bad.

This morning the Lord gave me an understanding of the situation. It comes from Joseph who had been sold into slavery, was wrongfully imprisoned, forgotten there and then exalted to Pharoah’s second in command.

“But Joseph told them, ‘Don’t be afraid! I have no right to change what God has decided. 20 You tried to harm me, but God made it turn out for the best, so that he could save all these people, as he is now doing. 21 Don’t be afraid! I will take care of you and your children.’ After Joseph said this, his brothers felt much better.” Genesis 50:19-21 CEV

We should never blame God for the evil in our lives, it’s not from Him. Instead, we should look for the good that God will do in turning the situation around.

“God will bless you, if you don’t give up when your faith is being tested. He will reward you with a glorious life, just as he rewards everyone who loves him .13  Don’t blame God when you are tempted! God cannot be tempted by evil, and he doesn’t use evil to tempt others.” James 1:12-13 CEV

Now back to this morning and the words that were jumping off the page.

“With all my heart
    I praise the Lord,
and with all that I am
    I praise his holy name!
With all my heart
    I praise the Lord!
I will never forget
    how kind he has been.

The Lord forgives our sins,
heals us when we are sick,
    and protects us from death.
His kindness and love
    are a crown on our heads.
Each day that we live,
    he provides for our needs
and gives us the strength
    of a young eagle.

For all who are mistreated,
    the Lord brings justice.
He taught his Law to Moses
and showed all Israel
    what he could do.

The Lord is merciful!
He is kind and patient,
    and his love never fails.
The Lord won’t always be angry
    and point out our sins;
10 he doesn’t punish us
    as our sins deserve.

11 How great is God’s love for all
    who worship him?
Greater than the distance
    between heaven and earth!
12 How far has the Lord taken
    our sins from us?
Farther than the distance
    from east to west!

13 Just as parents are kind
    to their children,
the Lord is kind
    to all who worship him,
14 because he knows
    we are made of dust.
15 We humans are like grass
or wild flowers
    that quickly bloom.
16 But a scorching wind blows,
and they quickly wither
    to be forever forgotten.

17 The Lord is always kind
    to those who worship him,
and he keeps his promises
to their descendants
18 who faithfully obey him…
22 All of God’s creation
and all that he rules,
    come and praise your Lord!
With all my heart
    I praise the Lord!” Psalm 103 CEV

God is kind. He is always kind! God cannot lie, these words are true to His character!

I know this was a longer blog but some of you needed to see what I saw this morning – God is KIND!

Let those words stand out in all that you experience today.

Shadows on the Road

When I went to Bible College our professor, Dr. Mitchell, taught about the types and shadows in the Old Testament that pointed to Christ. I remember well his class on Isaac.

“The Lord said, ‘Go get Isaac, your only son, the one you dearly love! Take him to the land of Moriah, and I will show you a mountain where you must sacrifice him to me on the fires of an altar.’ So Abraham got up early the next morning and chopped wood for the fire. He put a saddle on his donkey and set out with Isaac and two servants for the place where God had told him to go. Three days later Abraham looked off in the distance and saw the place.”

Imagine, if you will, that you are Abraham. God promised you a son and you waited patiently for 25 years for that son to be born. Now, your son is probably a young man in his teens and as you talk with the Lord in your morning quiet time the Lord gives you the instruction to offer him as a sacrifice.

Shocking! Disheartening! Unsettling for sure!

Three days they walked. Three days the thought of Isaac’s death was weighing on Abraham’s heart.

“He told his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey, while my son and I go over there to worship. We will come back.’ Abraham put the wood on Isaac’s shoulder, but he carried the hot coals and the knife. As the two of them walked along, 7-8 Isaac said, ‘Father, we have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?’

“My son,” Abraham answered, “God will provide the lamb.” Genesis 22:5-8 CEV

Now they walked, just the two of them, on the path to the mountain top. Much like the walk Christ took on the way to the hill of Golgotha. Isaac had wood on his shoulders, Jesus had a wooden cross.

“God will provide the lamb”.

They walked on and when they reached the mountain Abraham had Isaac help him build the altar and place the wood on it.

“Next, he tied up his son and put him on the wood. 10  He then took the knife and got ready to kill his son. 11 But the Lord’s angel shouted from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” Genesis 22:9-11 CEV

Jesus was nailed to a cross and Isaac was tied to the wood. Abraham was willing to be obedient to God even if it meant he gave up the one he loved the most in this life. God gave up his Only Begotten Son.

” Abraham had been promised that Isaac, his only son, would continue his family. But when Abraham was tested, he had faith and was willing to sacrifice Isaac, 19 because he was sure that God could raise people to life. This was just like getting Isaac back from death.” Hebrews 11:17-19 CEV

Here’s what God did next.

“Don’t hurt the boy or harm him in any way!” the angel said. “Now I know that you truly obey God, because you were willing to offer him your only son.” 13 Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the bushes. So he took the ram and sacrificed it instead of his son. 14 Abraham named that place ‘The Lord Will Provide.'” Genesis 22:12-14 CEV

God provided a lamb for Abraham and He provided the Lamb of God for us.

“When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, ‘Here is the Lamb of God!’ John 1:36 CEV

When Abraham left the servants at the bottom of the mountain he said the boy and I will return.

“Abraham and Isaac went back to the servants who had come with him, and they returned to Abraham’s home in Beersheba.” Genesis 22:19 CEV

On Jesus’ last night with His disciples He said He was going to His Father’s house but He would return.

We are all now waiting for that to happen. The shadow of Christ is on the road and we who love Him will see Him soon.

The Cradle to the Cross

The journey continues. Abraham and Sarah have both had name changes – God is calling them father and mother of many people and nations. Hearing this they both laughed; what was impossible in the natural was and is possible with God.

“So she laughed and said to herself, ‘Now that I am worn out and my husband is old, will I really know such happiness?’

13 The Lord asked Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh? Does she doubt that she can have a child in her old age? 14  I am the Lord! There is nothing too difficult for me. I’ll come back next year at the time I promised, and Sarah will already have a son.’” Genesis 18:12-14 CEV

And so, it happened. I hope you will take time to read Abraham and Sarah’s story. It’s such an encouraging one. Neither of them was perfect but God used them anyway. In all of their waiting to have a child they had their share of missteps, but they continued to trust God. (Read Genesis 12-22, it’s a wonderful story)

“The Lord was good to Sarah and kept his promise.  Although Abraham was very old, Sarah had a son exactly at the time God had said. Abraham named his son Isaac,  and when the boy was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, just as God had commanded.Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born, and Sarah said, “God has made me laugh.” Genesis 21:1-5 CEV

Little did Abraham and Sarah know the plan that God had for their son. Their son would be a signpost on the road to the cross. Before he was ever born their son was a sign of God’s faithfulness.

When God makes a promise, He keeps it.

” Abraham’s faith never became weak, not even when he was nearly 100 years old. He knew he was almost dead and that his wife Sarah could not have children. 20 But Abraham never doubted or questioned God’s promise. His faith made him strong, and he gave all the credit to God.

21 Abraham was certain that God could do what he had promised. 22 So God accepted him, 23 just as we read in the Scriptures. But these words were not written only for Abraham. 24 They were written for us, since we will also be accepted because of our faith in God, who raised our Lord Jesus to life. 25  God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and he raised him to life, so that we would be made acceptable to God.” Romans 4:19-25 CEV

From Isaac’s cradle we can look forward and see God’s provision for our salvation. When we look at the cradle we can see the cross.

Detour & Course Correction

Disabled vehicle ahead. If you travel very often and use Waze or some other GPS navigation those are probably words you have heard coming from your travel assistant.

Is annoying because you know that you’ll need to slow down, possibly detour and then make a course correction.

We’re still walking the road to the cross with Abram this morning and we are about to encounter all three of the above.

“Later the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision, ‘Abram, don’t be afraid! I will protect you and reward you greatly.’ But Abram answered, ‘Lord All-Powerful, you have given me everything I could ask for, except children. And when I die, Eliezer of Damascus will get all I own…The Lord replied, ‘No, he won’t! You will have a son of your own, and everything you have will be his.’” Genesis 15:1,2;4 CEV

That was the disabled vehicle. Neither Abram or Sarai were able to have children. Now here comes the detour.

“Abram’s wife Sarai had not been able to have any children. But she owned a young Egyptian slave woman named Hagar, and Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has not given me any children. Sleep with my slave, and if she has a child, it will be mine.” Abram agreed, and Sarai gave him Hagar to be his wife.” Genesis 16:1-3 CEV

This detour was a rough and rocky road. It had all sorts of bumps and hardships. Envy, jealousy, rebellion, contempt and desolation. Abram was 86 years old when this happened.

Now for the course correction.

“When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him again and said, “I am God All-Powerful. If you obey me and always do right, I will keep my solemn promise to you and give you more descendants than can be counted.” Genesis 17:1-2 CEV

4-5  I promise that you will be the father of many nations. So now I’m changing your name from Abram to Abraham. I will give you a lot of descendants, and they will become great nations. Some of them will even be kings.  I will always keep the promise I have made to you and your descendants, because I am your God and their God.” Genesis 17:4-5 CEV

God wanted Abram to remember this new road he was traveling on and so He changed Abram’s name to Abraham, meaning Father of Many Nations. Abraham knew God could do anything but this, having a baby at their age, was a big deal.

“Abraham bowed with his face to the ground and thought, “I am almost 100 years old. How can I become a father? And Sarah is 90. How can she have a child?” So he started laughing…” Genesis 17:17 CEV

Now, jump ahead a few weeks and the Lord visits Abraham again, establishing his route.

10  One of the guests was the Lord, and he said, “I’ll come back about this time next year, and when I do, Sarah will already have a son.” Sarah was behind Abraham, listening at the entrance to the tent. 11 Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah was well past the age for having children. 12  So she laughed and said to herself, “Now that I am worn out and my husband is old, will I really know such happiness? 13 The Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Does she doubt that she can have a child in her old age? 14  I am the Lord! There is nothing too difficult for me. I’ll come back next year at the time I promised, and Sarah will already have a son.” Genesis 18:10-14 CEV

Maybe life has been like that for you. At a younger age you had made a commitment to follow the Lord. You had been a “good Christian” but life had a way of taking you off course, leading you down a detour and far from what God had promised.

May I tell you, in spite of the detour God’s promises still hold true and He will bring you to a course correction and set you back on the right road!

Follow Me!

Those were the words that were heard by a man named Abram. He wasn’t anybody special; he was one of three sons. He was nine generations removed from Noah and sixteen generations from Adam.

(I know this doesn’t sound very interesting but bear with me through this brief history lesson.)

What I need you to see is that God doesn’t give up on His plans. He is diligent, persistent, aggressive and determined. Love never fails!

Of all the people on earth God chose Noah and nine generations later He chose Abraham.

“The Lord said to Abram: ‘Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you. I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others.  I will bless those who bless you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.’ 4-5 Abram was 75 years old when the Lord told him to leave the city of Haran. He obeyed and left with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and slaves they had acquired while in Haran.” Genesis 12:1-5 CEV

God is looking for those who will believe Him and obey. Noah obeyed and built an ark; Abram obeyed and left his homeland.

“Abraham had faith and obeyed God. He was told to go to the land that God had said would be his, and he left for a country he had never seen.  Because Abraham had faith, he lived as a stranger in the promised land. He lived there in a tent, and so did Isaac and Jacob, who were later given the same promise. 10 Abraham did this, because he was waiting for the eternal city God had planned and built.” Hebrews 11:8-10 CEV

If you read the story of Abram’s life, and I hope you will, you will see that he wasn’t perfect. He lied to the king of Egypt about his wife and there was family friction between he and his nephew Lot and still God used him. In fact, the Bible tells us that Abram was called the friend of God.

I like that.

My friends are near and dear to my heart. I treasure those relationships; God’s affection is so much greater than ours. Because men like Noah and Abram trusted God and were blessed by Him, we too share in those blessings.

“The Scriptures say that God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith.  And so, you should understand that everyone who has faith is a child of Abraham.  Long ago the Scriptures said God would accept the Gentiles because of their faith. This is why God told Abraham the good news that all nations would be blessed because of him. This means everyone who has faith will share in the blessings given to Abraham because of his faith.” Galatians 3:6-9 CEV

Abraham has left us some important steps to follow on our journey to the cross. Following the path that God has planned for us will always bring blessings!

“I will bless you with a future filled with hope—a future of success, not of suffering. 12 You will turn back to me and ask for help, and I will answer your prayers. 13  You will worship me with all your heart, and I will be with you” Jeremiah 29:11-13 CEV

An Ark on the Road

Just a few generations after Adam we find his (x7) great grandson Noah.

“The Lord saw how bad the people on earth were and that everything they thought and planned was evil. He was sorry that he had made them, and he said, ‘I’m going to destroy every person on earth! I’ll even wipe out animals, birds, and reptiles. I’m sorry I ever made them.’ But the Lord was pleased with Noah,  and this is the story about him. Noah was the only person who lived right and obeyed God.” Genesis 6:5-9 CEV

It’s important to see that even if there is only one person who is living for the Lord He will still provide and protect them.

“Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see.  It was their faith that made our ancestors pleasing to God…6But without faith no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and rewards everyone who searches for him.  Because Noah had faith, he was warned about something that had not yet happened. He obeyed and built a boat that saved him and his family. In this way the people of the world were judged, and Noah was given the blessings that come to everyone who pleases God.” Hebrews 11:1,2,6&7 CEV

I’m sure you’ve heard it said that Hebrews, chapter 11, is the Hall of Fame of Faith. It records the deeds of those men and women who lived to please God. Each one had a personal encounter with God. None of them were perfect but their hearts were filled with faith.

The ark was a type of salvation. It provided everything that Noah and his family needed to live and thrive during the flood. God made a way to protect those who loved Him and were willing to follow His plan.

“Eight people went into that boat and were brought safely through the flood. 21 Those flood waters were like baptism that now saves you. But baptism is more than just washing your body. It means turning to God with a clear conscience, because Jesus Christ was raised from death.” I Peter 3:20-21 CEV

Noah and his family were taking steps of faith toward a cross they couldn’t see.

“Noah built an altar where he could offer sacrifices to the Lord. Then he offered on the altar one of each kind of animal and bird that could be used for a sacrifice. 21 The smell of the burning offering pleased the Lord, and he said: ‘Never again will I punish the earth for the sinful things its people do. All of them have evil thoughts from the time they are young, but I will never destroy everything that breathes, as I did this time.'” Genesis 8:20-21 CEV

The promise that God made to Noah is also for us.

“Again, God said to Noah and his sons: 9′ I am going to make a solemn promise to you and to everyone who will live after you...16 When I see the rainbow in the sky, I will always remember the promise that I have made to every living creature. 17 The rainbow will be the sign of that solemn promise.'” Genesis 8:8-17 CEV

The safety of the ark and the promise of the rainbow lead us down the road to the plan of salvation that the cross provides.

The Road to the Cross

I imagine some of you were wondering if I was going to miss a day with the blog; well no, it is just later than usual.

My Sundays are a time of reflection and of doing things that I’m not able to do during the week. Dave and I attend on-line church services, go for a walk together and if I haven’t heard from the Lord for a morning devotional I wait until I do. That’s the way it went today.

Realizing that Easter Sunday is the end of this month the Lord put it on my heart to share what I am calling “The Road to the Cross”. This may be a bit different than your used to but I feel it will be a time of reflection for all of us.

The first steps on the Road were taken in the Garden of Eden.

“The Lord God called out to the man and asked, “Where are you?” 10 The man answered, “I was naked, and when I heard you walking through the garden, I was frightened and hid!”

11 “How did you know you were naked?” God asked. “Did you eat any fruit from that tree in the middle of the garden?” 12 “It was the woman you put here with me,” the man said. “She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it.”

13  The Lord God then asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The snake tricked me,” she answered, “and I ate some of that fruit.”

14 So the Lord God said to the snake: “Because of what you have done,
you will be the only animal to suffer this curse—For as long as you live,…15 You and this woman will hate each other; your descendants and hers will always be enemies. One of hers will strike you on the head, and you will strike him on the heel.” Genesis 3:10-15 CEV

Here, a perfect couple, living in a perfect environment, communing with perfect God, had a freewill and used it to go contrary to what God had said. Instead of wiping them off the face of the earth with a simple brush of His hand God made provision for mankind to be restored.

21 Then the Lord God made clothes out of animal skins for the man and his wife.” Genesis 3:21 CEV

An animal was killed, blood was shed and forgiveness was enacted.

“The Law says that almost everything must be sprinkled with blood, and no sins can be forgiven unless blood is offered.” Hebrews 9:22 CEV

There in the Garden, that perfect place, death occurred physically and spiritually. Spiritually, man separated himself from communion with His Father and Creator. Physically, an animal died to provide a covering for Adam and Eve.

It was an action that would have eternal consequences.

“Adam sinned, and that sin brought death into the world. Now everyone has sinned, and so everyone must die. 13 Sin was in the world before the Law came. But no record of sin was kept, because there was no Law. 14 Yet death still had power over all who lived from the time of Adam to the time of Moses. This happened, though not everyone disobeyed a direct command from God, as Adam did.

In some ways Adam is like Christ who came later. 15 But the gift of God’s undeserved grace was very different from Adam’s sin. That one sin brought death to many others. Yet in an even greater way, Jesus Christ alone brought God’s gift of undeserved grace to many people.” Romans 5:12-15 CEV

For the next several days and possibly weeks, we will be looking at God’s steps from the Garden to the Cross. From man’s rebellion to Christ’s restitution; from a beginning that was sin free to relationship restored.

I encourage you to walk this road with me. We’ll make stops along the way, we’ll see God’s patience, His mercy and His unconditional love all which add up to one thing – His Grace!

Seed Planting

I hope you took some time to crumble some of the big dirt clods you may have identified in your life. Selfishness, easily offended, short-temper, anger, gossip, insecurity – yep, these are just some of the things that may have surfaced as you were tilling the soil. They will block the proper development of the seeds we are about to plant if they are broken up and removed.

Let me say before we go any further that identifying and breaking up these hard places is a positive thing. We can only remove what we know about it – ignorance is not bliss.

All through the Bible we have examples of seed planting. It starts in the Garden of Eden.

“God said, “I am giving you all the grain bearing plants and all the fruit trees. These trees make fruit with seeds in it. This grain and fruit will be your food. 30 And I am giving all the green plants to the animals. These green plants will be their food. Every animal on earth, every bird in the air, and all the little things that crawl on the earth will eat that food.” And all these things happened.” Genesis 1:29-30 ERV

The process of planting seed and producing a harvest was enacted at the very beginning. God created the earth out of nothing but after that original creation every thing has been supplied by the planting of seeds.

It’s important to realize what the seed is that we are asked to plant.

“Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours. 10 “Rain and snow fall from the sky. But they don’t return without watering the earth
that produces seeds to plant and grain to eat. 11 That’s how it is with my words. They don’t return to me without doing everything I send them to do.” Isaiah 55:9-11 CEV

The seed God has given us for life-changing harvest is His word. He says, confidently, that His word will not return to Him without accomplishing EVERYTHING He sends it to do. God provides us with good seed!

“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Genesis 8:21-22 KJV

“Again Jesus said: God’s kingdom is like what happens when a farmer scatters seed in a field. 27 The farmer sleeps at night and is up and around during the day. Yet the seeds keep sprouting and growing, and he doesn’t understand how. 28 It is the ground that makes the seeds sprout and grow into plants that produce grain. 29  Then when harvest season comes and the grain is ripe, the farmer cuts it with a sickle.” Mark 4:26-30 CEV

So let me repeat how important it is that we have good ground for planting. God won’t force us to make a good field free from stones, hard dirt clods and weeds but He does tell us the seed won’t grow well unless we do.

Before I ever gave this teaching to you the Lord dealt with me on some hard soil in my heart that needed to be broken up and made ready for planting. Our garden can be as large as we want, we just need to prepare the ground.

I think it’s best to start with a small plot – watch the seed grow and then plant more. Make your ground ready, we’ll start planting some seeds in tomorrow’s teaching.

Let the World Know

I have a question for you this morning. If I asked you to define friendship would the word love be in your definition?

It should be – true friendship is built on love and trust. A couple of days ago, in my blog “Love Covers” I showed you how God’s love covers our multitude of sins. Remember this verse?

“Most of all, have a true love for each other. Love covers many sins.” I Peter 4:8 NLV

and then yesterday there was this verse

“But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. 35 If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35 CEV

Those were the two thoughts heavy on my mind this morning. Am I a good and loving friend? Love and trust. Do I express those two characteristics with the people I call friends and those who are family?

Do I love the way Christ does? I think of the adulterous woman who the religious leaders wanted to stone. Jesus proved to be her friend; she could trust Him. He didn’t humiliate her or put her failure on display, He covered her actions with His love. He told her she was forgiven and to go and sin no more.

Look at Peter. Christ told him to be on guard because satan was going to trip him up and get him to sin. Peter in his own boisterous way said NEVER and then he denied Christ three times before the sun came up. After Jesus rose from the grave and encountered the disciples on multiple occasions He never once ridiculed or chided Peter in public. Jesus only spoke good things over Peter’s life.

How will the world know that we are disciples, followers of Christ? We are to love one another. That means that we cover the failings and shortcomings of those we love. We don’t repeat their mistakes, we don’t embarrass them with their past. We cover them with love.

“You will keep your friends if you forgive them, but you will lose your friends if you keep talking about what they did wrong.” Proverbs 17:9 CEV

There’s a story that you may not know. After he and his family were off the ark and living on land again, Noah got drunk and one of his sons found him naked in his tent. That son went and reported the incident to his brothers. He made his father’s shame public. Look what the other two sons did.

“Shem and Japheth put a robe over their shoulders and walked backwards into the tent. Without looking at their father, they placed it over his body” Genesis 9:23 CEV

They covered their father’s sin and shame. This is what God expects from us. This is how the world will know that we are His disciples.

“Do as God does. After all, you are his dear children.” Ephesians 5:1 CEV

With all we have learned about God’s love for us during the past month we have a mandate to walk in that kind of love to those around us. Be an encourager, be someone who builds others up. Don’t speak of past failures – cover them.

Let the world know we are His disciples by our love!

If, Ands or But

Sometimes I get up and know that the Lord is speaking right to me. This is one of those mornings and I’m going to let you come along and listen in. This is a point He has driven home to me many, many times and He knew I needed to hear it once again.

BUT GOD…who is rich in mercy and love – anytime things seemed stacked against me, I remember this, BUT GOD! How can I not come out a winner when I know that no matter what happens there’s a BUT GOD in the plan.

“But God is rich in mercy, and he loved us very much. 5 We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him. But he gave us new life together with Christ. (You have been saved by God’s grace.) 6 Yes, it is because we are a part of Christ Jesus that God raised us from death and seated us together with him in the heavenly places. 7 God did this so that his kindness to us who belong to Christ Jesus would clearly show for all time to come the amazing richness of his grace. 8 I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God.” Ephesians 2:4-8 ERV

There isn’t a problem too big or a reward so great that they aren’t solved or enriched with BUT GOD. The enemy of every Christian is satan and he sends many challenges and problems to discourage and destroy. BUT GOD… Then there are also rewards and opportunities that look too good to pass up BUT GOD will show me if they are traps to get me off course or if they are really opportunities He is sending to bless me.

The old saying; No if’s, and’s or but’s about it, was used to drive home a point that something was solid or unchangeable; BUT GOD. God is the miracle worker and nothing is impossible with Him.

“All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. 24 But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.” Romans 3:23-24 CEV

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was barren, with no form of life; it was under a roaring ocean covered with darkness. But the Spirit of God was moving over the water.” Genesis 1:1-2 CEV

From the very beginning God has been here creating, establishing, forming and planning an abundant life for me. He will establish each day and set me on the right path because He is rich in mercy and love.

As I go about my day, when things come up, I will remember BUT GOD and know that He is for me so anyone or anything that is against me has to face no one else BUT GOD!