Encouraged by God's Word

Archive for August, 2009

Hello Friends,

I know some of you remember that 1971 classic song by Marvin Gaye.

Mother, mother
There’s too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There’s far too many of you dying
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today

Father, father
We don’t need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today.

Have you ever wondered why our country is going through what we’re going through?

Every time you turn on the news it’s gloom and doom. I know that bad news is always the lead story but it seems like its getting worse.

The economy is horrible and we’re still in two wars. Businesses are downsizing or closing which is increasing the unemployment rate.

I also heard the use of antidepressant drugs is on an increase which means more people are being treated for depression.

People aren’t just killing their loved ones but they are mutilating their bodies. Murder/suicides seem to be the w ay to settle

a domestic dispute. And it seems I’m hearing about more suicides than ever before.

Is it just me? It seems like this is what the media is reporting EVERYDAY on every newscast.

What happened to the love people had for their fellow man? Why are we living in a society with no standards?

Proverbs 13:34 says Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.

I believe this proverb tells us what’s going on.

This nation is not a righteous nation. Oh yeah, at one time it used to be “One Nation Under God” but that has all changed. We allow any and everything to be accepted in this society.

Sin is a disgrace (reproach) and has taken over the people and I believe God is rebuking us for allowing this to happen.

We live in a country where we have the right to be free to do just about whatever we want to do and because of that, our country has lost its way.

Yes I believe our freedoms, to a certain degree, have ruined this country.

Because we are free to do what we want, homosexuality is accepted in this country and you can even say it’s popular. Abortion continues to be a debate which I don’t understand because it is premeditated murder. Lying, infidelity, cheating, promiscuity are all accepted in our society. It’s all over the media and we love to watch it. Have you seen what’s on TV lately? This stuff is not on because people aren’t watching it.

If we want our nation to be exalted, we must live righteously. If we want the killings to stop, we must not accept sin. If we want our babies to live, we must have standards.

This country’s love for sin is slowly taking us down and if we don’t watch it, we won’t have to worry about the ozone layer or ice caps melting and killing us. We’ll destroy ourselves.

Be Encouraged and Have a Great Day!

Hello Friends,

Over the past 3-4 years a new language has been adopted into our society. It’s known as Internet slang. You see it in text messages, instant messaging, emails and postings on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

This new language was created to save keystrokes by cutting down on the number of characters used in messages. It’s creative and somewhat entertaining to me at times.

Here are a few of them. See if you recognize any:
BF4L (best friends for life)
ROTFL (rolling on the floor laughing)
THX (thanks)
LMBO (laugh my butt off)
BTW (by the way)

Now there are many, many more that I didn’t put on here and IDK (I don’t know) all of them but I am able to figure out most of them when I see them.

I think one of the most common terms is LOL (laughing/laugh out loud). When PPL (people) write messages and they want the reader of the message to take their words lightly, the put LOL on the end of the message.

For instance: Joe, you know you are the worst driver in the world. LOL

By putting LOL at the end of the statement, Joe knows that the statement is humorous and not serious. It’s funny and something to laugh about.

Have you been laughing these days?

Psalm 126:2 says Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”

Now you know the Lord has done GR8 (great) things for you so why aren’t you laughing and singing? It’s K (okay) to laugh at jokes but every now and then you just need

to break out in a laugh. Laugh because you’re victorious and not defeated. Laugh because people tried to stop you but they couldn’t. Laugh just to make yourself feel good.

And TAI (think about it), we all know a song that we sing that lifts our spirits. Sing that song. Sing it loud when you think about all that God has done for you. Sing when you know you’re about to become victorious. Sing just to scare your enemies off.

Are you feeling glad this morning? You should be. If not maybe you need to find something that’s funny to laugh about.

Do you have a song in your <3 (heart)? Are you singing praises to our God? Do it! Praise Him now and see how you feel.

So 2day (today), TMRW (tomorrow) and from now on, let’s have some fun and laugh and sing to the glory of God. Have a merry heart and I’ll TTYL (talk to you later).

Be Encouraged and TGIF (Thank God it’s Friday)!

Hello Friends,

How many times have you heard the statement “haste makes waste”? Or if you didn’t hear that, it was “take your time before you mess up”. I think this is one of those statements everyone has heard as a child or if you’re a parent you used on your children at least once in their lifetime.

I know I’ve said it before especially when it comes to my kids doing homework. I always tell them to take their time and make sure the answer is correct before they move on to something else.

According to GoEnglish.com, “Haste makes waste” says that when we act too quickly (“haste”) we are more likely to make mistakes and end up with poor results (“waste”).

Not only does this apply to my kids but to me as well. There have been times when I hurried an assignment and went back and looked at it and found mistakes that I shouldn’t have made. But because I was rushing, I had errors.

Some of the mistakes we make when we hurry are minor but others can be costly. Think about the people who deal with money and the potential mistakes they could make. A decimal point in the wrong place can be pricey.

Proverbs 21:5 says The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.

When you plan something out, you have a detailed program of action. Plans are well thought out strategies. They require you to put forth some time and effort in to it and as a result, you end up successful. You accomplish what you set out to do and with that you usually gain something.

On the other hand, those who operate in haste are doing things in a hurry and are being counterproductive because although they’re working, they are making mistakes that will need to be corrected. And as we all know, mistakes can cost you!

Let’s be honest for a minute. How many times have you rushed through your devotion time with God? You did it just to say you did it but really, you weren’t doing anything but going through the motions. And as a result, you got nothing out of it. You weren’t ministered to. God didn’t answer your prayers. He didn’t give you guidance on anything. You were at a lost and didn’t gain anything.

So the next time you’re making plans, plan something meaningful. Plan some quality time with God. Take your time to get to know Him. Don’t rush through praying and studying His word because you won’t gain a thing by doing that.

The reward will only come if you diligently commune with Him. But if you rush your time with Him, you’ll only come up short. He deserves better than that.

Be Encouraged and Have a Great Day!

Hello Friends,

I didn’t want to do it but here’s another work related story.

Thursday morning I was dropping off some stuff at my summer worksite and as I got back into my car, the car in front of me was blocking the street. As I pulled up behind the car, the person in the street talking to the driver looked back at me and said “Hold on for one minute.”

Well being the patient person that I am, I waited a whole 2 seconds before I yelled out the window for him to move. When he saw who I was and realized he knew me, he told the driver to move to the side so I could get by. As I drove past he said that if he had known it was me he would have moved earlier.

Because I was in a hurry, I would have done whatever necessary to get toward my destination. If they didn’t move, I was prepared to back my car up until I was able to turn around in a safe area and continue on but nothing was going to slow me down.

I want to know, have you ever let someone or something stop you from reaching your destination? Have you ever been hindered from moving forward?

Philippians 3:14 says I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

In life we will always come up against obstacles but we should not let them hinder us from reaching our goals. We should press forward and be laser focused on our goals and make sure our efforts are pointed in the right direction.

But in order to have that focus, there must be a prize, a reward that we’re trying to obtain, something worthwhile. If not, there is no motivator and our efforts will be unsuccessful.

What prize are you trying to obtain? Is it something everlasting or is it something temporary? Are you striving for eternal life?

We all should be striving for a closer relationship with Christ because He is the answer to all of our prayers. He is the one who gives us all we need to live a successful life. He is the one who provides for us when things look destitute. He is the one who loves on us when there is no one around. He is our comforter when we are stressed.

If you find yourself not moving forward, reassess your goals and set them on a worthy prize.

Be Encouraged and Have a Great Day!