The Reason You Were Born!

The Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. — Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV
We have all had our hearts broken by someone who did not choose us, or by someone who rejected our offer to love that would have brought the fulfillment of a relationship. Some of us have even said under our breath. “It’s your loss. I would have been good for you. We could have had a great life together, but . . . oh, well.”
God never says, “Oh, well.” He is relentless in his love pursuit of us while at the same time honoring our right to say, “No. I’m not interested.”
How blessed we are that, in the cocooning security of God’s choice to love us, we also have his promise to never abandon us. He will not desert us; He will never choose against us. No human being in our lives can make such a declaration of steadfast love. Only God can; only God does. Let’s remember yet again Isaiah 41:9, which promises, “I have chosen you and will not throw you away.”
My prayer for you is that you choose to accept the very reason for which you were born and that you rest in your place of one whom God will never abandon . . . never throw away.
~Marylin Meberg

SHINE

This past weekend I was privileged to attend yet another amazing and spiritually revitalizing church retreat. Some of the NHBC family were at Fort Myers Beach for a weekend of getting close to God and reflecting on His word. The retreat's theme was "Shine" and how we as believers need to shine for Jesus so that others can see His light in us.

God gives us many opportunities to shine and this morning I missed an opportunity to shine. Sometimes we can get caught up in the regular monotony that is our work week and let our lights dim. I was in traffic driving down the same street I have been taking for the past four years to go to work and while sitting at a stop light I was startled by a person in my window. It was an older man at my passenger window which was open and he reached in with one hand palmed and asked for money. I reacted by waving him off and saying "I am sorry". He replied "Man, I have nothing." and walked off to the next car. In my mind I thought to myself, I work two jobs, I practically bust by back to get what I have.

I don't know his situation or what happened to put him in his current state. What I now know I should have said was; "You have Jesus, and the best thing is you don't have to beg for it and it doesn't even cost anything" "All you have to do is let him in to your heart." The Christian in me would have had me give him the plan of salvation at that moment. My opportunity to shine for Him to this one person missed. I know that things happen for a reason and because of this encounter I am writing this blog which I have not had the inspiration to write in a long time. Also because I missed my moment to shine this morning God gave me second opportunity and I was able to give the plan of salvation to my Aunt who is going through a difficult time. Glory be to God.

Sailors use the light from a lighthouse to steer them clear of obstacles and the rocky coast during the night and in stormy weather. Airplanes use beacons of light to help them arrive to their destination and land safely. Automobiles use headlights to drive in the night and in fog so that their occupants can reach the destination without incident. Many people use us as their "light" to guide them even when we ourselves are not shining as bright as we could. You wouldn't go driving in your car at night if your headlights weren't working. An airport would shut down if they had no runway lights to guide the planes. A lighthouse keeper lives in the lighthouse to make sure that the light is working and brightly shining all the time. God is entrusting His light in us, we are the lighthouse keepers of our spiritual walk and it is important that we never let that light go out for the sake of those who are seeking it.

Ground Hog Day and Signs in Your Life

Today, February 2, is Groundhog Day. As you probably know, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow in the morning, the prediction is there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, spring is on the way.

And why is it that a 20-pound critter who spent the last few months in hibernation can supposedly forecast the weather? That whole “sunny skies equals bad weather to come” thing is a tradition dating back to early European Christians and the legend of Candlemas Day. Early Pennsylvania settlers figured the groundhog, a “most intelligent and sensible animal” would have the brains to head back indoors if he saw his shadow. (Hey, no one claimed it was a scientific method.)

According to the “Official Website of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club,” Groundhog Day began in the 1800s and Phil has been looking for his shadow ever since. How about you? Do you begin your morning peering out of your ‘burrow,’ looking for a sign to tell you what kind of day it will be? Or do you start each day in the knowledge that God already knows your personal forecast and will always be with you (on stormy and sunny days alike!)? Happy Groundhog Day!

Betrayals

Betrayals


If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend. - Psalm 55:12-13

"You will always be attacked in the place of your inheritance," said the man sitting across the breakfast table. "God has called you to bring people together and to impact other people's lives as a result of this anointing in your life. You must make sure that you seek to maintain righteousness in all of your relationships." Those words came from someone who had the wisdom and authority to speak them to me.

I have had a number of close relationships that ended in betrayal. I am very loyal to my friends and those with whom I have covenant relationships. Yet there are times that no matter how righteous you are, when someone means to betray you, he will do it. Loving those who betray you is "graduate-level Christianity." The religious community and one of His closest friends betrayed Jesus. Those who were closest to David betrayed him. Joseph's own family betrayed him. Loving our enemies cannot be accomplished by mustering it up. It can only happen when we have come to a death in ourselves so that Christ can love through us. It is truly one of those acts of identifying with the cross.

If you are a leader, you can be sure God will allow you to experience betrayal. It is one of those courses in the Kingdom that may not be required until God has seen that you have successfully passed other tests. It is the most difficult and most gut wrenching of all tests. A godly response goes against all that is in us. Our natural response is to protect, retaliate, and retain unforgiveness and bitterness. Our natural response is satan's most powerful weapon; to overcome it requires much grace from God. Ask God to build His nature in you now so that when such attacks come, you will be aware that it is a test and you will respond in righteousness.


TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Friday, December 18 2009

The Glory of Christmas

It occurred to me last week that there is a practical reason Thanksgiving always precedes Christmas: It sets in motion the ideal mental attitude to carry us through the weeks in between. In other words, a sustained spirit of gratitude makes the weeks before Christmas a celebration rather than a marathon.

Maybe these few thoughts will stimulate you to give God your own thanks in greater abundance.

Thank You Lord…

for Your sovereign control over our circumstances,
for Your holy character in spite of our sinfulness,
for Your commitment to us even when we wander astray,
for Your Word that gives us direction,
for Your love that holds us close,
for Your gentle compassion in our sorrows,
for Your consistent faithfulness through our highs and lows,
for Your understanding when we are confused,
for Your Spirit that enlightens our eyes,
for Your grace that removes our guilt.

— Charles Swindoll

God's Motives

"He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me." - 2 Samuel 22:20

Questioning someone's motives for their activities can become an overriding response to those to whom we relate. Wrong motives can result in broken relationships, poor business decisions, and falling out of God's will. Sometimes we do not know the motive of another person. It is wrong for us to assume what their motive is until we have confidence that we know their intentions. When we respond or react prematurely, we become judge and jury over them.

God has a motive for every one of His children. His desire is to bring us into a spacious place. He wants us to go beyond our borders of safety and security so that we might experience life at a level that goes beyond ourselves. What do you think of when you think of a "spacious place"? No limitations? A large, grassy field? Open air? These are positive images. Sometimes these spacious places encourage us to step out in faith into areas where we've never ventured. Sometimes we need to be rescued by the Lord. When Peter walked on the water, God was inviting him to a spacious place. He went beyond the borders of his boat and ventured into a whole new world. He didn't have complete success in his venturing out, but it was a process that would lead him to the next victory in his faith walk with Jesus. Sometimes failure is what is needed in order to move us to the next level of faith with God. However, we must be willing to fail and let God rescue us.

The Lord delights in this process. His motive for His children is always love. It is always to bring us to a new level of trust and dependence on Him.

Taken from
TGIF Today God Is First
Saturday, May 30 2009

NHBC Spring Retreat 2009

Before we left for this retreat, Pastor Dan admonished us not to expect the same thing from this retreat as from the others. I must say this retreat had a much different impact on me than our Fall 2008 Retreat in Ft Myers Beach.

This retreat was far deeper spiritually for me than the last one. It wasn't as emotional, as tearful. There was a quiet, peaceful awakening in my spirit. The best way I can describe it is that this weekend what the pastor taught about became rhema word to me. Not that anything he spoke about was new, just as the pastor himself said. It came alive in me in a different way than before.

I came to realize that God wants us to cry out to Him. It's not as if I had never heard or read that in the Bible before. I'd always been taught to pray silently, to myself. One of my favorite Bible verses is Psalm 17:6 "I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray." I've always had a beautiful picture in my mind of God parting the clouds and leaning down to hear me as I pray. How much more complete is that vision if I'm actually praying out loud!!

I was greatly impacted by the session dealing with forgiveness. I made big mistakes in my life before I came to Christ and pray that one day I will be forgiven by those who were hurt by my actions. The word that struck me most strongly in the verses the pastor quoted was 'tender-hearted'. I am praying that through Christ I can become tender-hearted towards those who hurt me.

The fun times we had together were as always, wonderful!! I am blessed to have such a beautiful "Eternal Family". God shows me His love through each and every one of you!! I can't wait until our next retreat to see what God has in store for us......