Will you choose worship over worry?

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 2 Cor 1:3-4

I received another potential diagnosis last week.

                               Another one! Geesh. How many can someone get in a year's time?

Anyway. I decided that I'm not going to spend much time thinking about it, I won't research it and I won't waste time worrying.
                 
                               Even though on this one, they brought out the big guns so to speak.

This arrived in the mail yesterday, with some worried call from the pharmacist about medicine and to call my doctor, blah, blah, blah...

I will. Because it's obviously important to many people that I get these things out of the bubble wrap.

But this time of year, this season of lent, is a special time for those of us who follow Christ. It's a time to look at him, reflect on what he accomplished for us and worship him fully. And I don't know about you, but I can't worship when I'm worried.

               Instead, I plan to look toward my Lord.

                        I will take comfort in our father. How incredible is it that He is called...

                                 The Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.

That's just what we need. That's all we need.

Won't you join me for the next 38 days and rejoice in God's comfort?

      And share! Don't forget to share the ways he's comforted you so that you can comfort others.

Jesus didn't hold back anything from us. Let's worship and praise Him during this time.

Terror and times of trouble

I believe that in these times, it's important for believers to remember this one crucial thing...

          Jesus already won.

This morning, as I was praying for the victims of the Boston bombings, the Holy Spirit brought this scripture to my mind:

Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. Matt 24:12,13

In times of terror and uncertainty, it's easy to question the existence of a loving God. But if we read our Bibles regularly, we'll see and understand that Jesus talked about this stuff thousands of years ago with his disciples. He told them exactly what he would suffer and what we would suffer as a result. When he left this earth, he left us with the gift of His peace.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:32-33

We live in a dirty, gritty, stinky world. We're chosen and put here to make this place better. When we're so graphically reminded of the pure evil surrounding us, it's good to remember who we belong to. We are in Christ.

Do you have his peace? I hope you feel it now, more than ever.

John, an apostle who knew about pain, loneliness and physical suffering, reminds us of our status and the state of the world. He says, "We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 1 John 5:19

Jesus' command to "take heart!" is a call for courage. It means, don't be afraid.

Take heart my friends, He has overcome and He is coming back for us.

Worthless Servant

This morning I read the parable of the loaned money in Matthew 25:14-30.

In this parable, Jesus is telling a series of parables to explain what the kingdom of heaven will be like. In the series, the underlying message is: Be Ready.

Ready for what?

    For Christ's return.

When Christ returns, he expects to see certain things from his people. He expects to see His servants (that would be us) looking forward to his coming and working hard in and for his kingdom. The parable of the loaned money, or talents, represents this clearly.

We have a different meaning for the word talent today. It's no longer a monetary reference, but it still refers to something we have been given for a purpose. I love the way my study Bible explains it:

"The master divided the money (talents) among his servants according to their abilities. No one received more or less than he could handle. If he failed in his assignment, his excuse could not be that he was overwhelmed. Failure could come only from laziness or hatred toward the master. The talents represent any kind of resource we are given. God gives us time, gifts, and other resources according to our abilities, and he expects us to invest them wisely until he returns. We are responsible to use well what God has given us. The issue is not how much we have, but how well we use what we have."
                                              Life Application Study Bible - NIV

What happened to the worthless servant who buried his talent because of fear and laziness?

Read, Matthew 25:30 to find out!

How about you? Is there any "talent" you've been too afraid to use for Jesus' sake? If so, get to work and don't worry, because Jesus loves you and will help you in your work for him. 

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear..." 1 John 4:18