God Can Bless Your Mess

The next time you feel like your life is a complete mess and there is no possibility of recovery, think about the people whose lives are recorded in the Bible.  You know those heroes of the faith…

Eve was deceived

Adam was disobedient 

Noah had a drinking problem cursed his grandson

Abraham was too old

So was Sarah 

Lot was a compromiser

Isaac went blind 

Rebekah played favorites

Jacob was a liar

Leah was ugly

Joseph was abused

Moses had a stuttering problem / murderer 

Miriam was a gossip

Gideon was  coward 

Samson was a womanizer

Rahab was a prostitute

Jeremiah and Timothy were too young

David was an Adulterer and a murderer

Elijah was suicidal

Jonah ran from God

Naomi was a widow

So was Ruth

Job went bankrupt

Hosea had a bad marriage

Mary was a teenager 

So was Daniel

Matthew was an extortionist

Mary Magdalen was demon possessed 

Peter denied Christ

The Disciples deserted Jesus

Thomas was a doubter

Martha worried about everything

The Samaritan woman divorced 5 times 

Zaccheus was too short

Paul was was an accessory to murder 

John Mark was a quitter 

Timothy had weak stomach 

Lazarus was dead!

And yet God did use them in spite of the mess.  So no matter your mess, give it to God.  Love Him, serve Him.  Watch what He can do with a messy person.

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First Things First (Luke 12:31)

There is an answer to stress.  Learn more in this Recharge video

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Plan for Blessing (Luke 11:28)

Jesus shares a two-step plan for blessing in your life.

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Your To-Do List (Luke 10:37)

A familiar story provides instruction for today. Learn more in this Recharge video.

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The Real Reason to Rejoice (Luke 10:20)

Jesus says that we should not rejoice in things we can do but in our relationship to God.

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Your Blind Spot

(On a mobile device you may have to enlarge the picture to do the visual experiment)

You are partially blind! Oh, you don't think so. Allow me to prove my point. Look at the picture at normal reading distance. Close your left eye and look at the magician's wand. Slowly move the picture in and out. As you do, you will notice at a particular point the rabbit will disappear. Go ahead and try it, I'll wait until you get back. So, why did the rabbit disappear? The back of your our eye, the retina, has a place where the nerve endings for the light receptive cells join the optic nerve. At this point there are no light receptive cells and hence a blind spot. When the rabbit is in this blind spot it "disappears." Fortunately the Lord placed this spot 12 degrees to one side. If it were located in the middle of our retina we would have a serious disability. Why don't we notice this blind spot all the time? When both eyes are open the mind combines both images into the 3-D view that we are used to seeing. In combining the two pictures the two blinds spots are covered by the information supplied by the other eye. Even when we only have one eye open we do not see a blind spot because the brain fills in the missing information with detail similar to that nearby.

Now that I have proven one blind spot allow me to prove another. We do not see ourselves as we truly are. Jesus said we could easily see imperfection in others but miss it in ourselves. He said, ... how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's." Matthew 7: 4-5 A moat is a small speck of dust that we can see with 20/20 vision in someone else, the beam is like a 2X4 but we cannot see it. This blind spot is linked to the pride that is part of all of us (see I John 2:16). We do not like to admit that there are imperfections in us. After all if we admit to our imperfections we are admitting weakness and this is painful to our pride.

Since we have such a blind spot and since we should want to correct our own faults how do we go about correcting our vision problem. There are two resources that our Lord has given to enable us to see ourselves in spite of our blind spot. The first is other people. Proverbs 27:6 says it this way, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend;" A true friend will tell us of our shortcomings even though these may be painful to hear. Since we need others, God desires that His children be an active part of a local church. Those who claim to be Christians but find no time for participation in a local church are at the worst not real Christians or at best Christians who are remaining in blind immaturity. (If the preceding sentence seems harsh, consider it the wound of a friend). The second resource is the Word of God. Please take a moment and read James 1:22-25. James states that one who hears the word of God but does not practice it is like a man who takes a quick look in the mirror but does not do anything to improve his appearance. To be what God wants us to be we must look long and hard into the mirror Word of God that perfectly shows us what we are like. Just as I am totally sure you will look into a mirror today to check on your outward appearance be sure this day and every day, to look into God's mirror and make the corrections necessary. If a church and the Bible are part of your life then your natural spiritual blindness is in the process of being healed. Make sure you do not continue in blindness!


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Least = Great (Luke 9:48)

Jesus says the way to greatness is not by being number one.

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Hear Him! (Luke 9:35)

A voice from heaven shows us the significance of Jesus' message.

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Re: Temptation

Temptation is something we all face and something that our enemy is always in our face about.  He is a specialist at sending what will tempt us the most when we are in a moment of weakness or a moment of opportunity for him.

• If you are prone to laziness - he will give you unsupervised time
• If you are prone to bitterness - he will remind you of past hurts
• If you are prone to lust - he will send something to catch your eye
• If you are prone to anger - he will send some irritation
• If you are prone to gossip - he will send scandalous news your way
• If you are prone to greed - he will send something for you to grasp
• If you are prone to pride - he will tell you how great you are
• If you are prone to depression - he will tell you how pathetic you are
• If you are prone to selfishness - he will tell you how deserving you are
• If you are prone to envy - he will tell you how undeserving others are
• If you are prone to being judgmental - he will tell you how right you are
• If you are prone to doubts - he will tell you how wrong you are

The solution?  Spend time with God daily, every single day; do not miss a day.  Time in the Word and time in prayer will allow the Spirit freedom to work; it will give you strength to stand and prepare you for the temptation that will come.  Have you spent time with God today?

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The Ultimate Question (Luke 9:20)

How we answer the question of Jesus identity has eternal consequences  Learn more in this Recharge video.

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You have a story to tell (Luke 8:39)

The story of you can be a powerful tool to influence and encourage other.

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A Flawless Record (Luke 7:22)

Jesus record should encourage you to trust in Him.  Learn more in this Recharge video.

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