★ Thought for the Day – What’s Your Blanket? ★

Yesterday we had a strong thunderstorm roll through our area that brought lighting and hail which got me thinking about this this Thought for the Day.  What comes to mind when you read the title of this post?  If you were like me, and grew up with the classic TV show “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” an image of Linus with his security blanket may come to mind.  Or maybe you may be thinking about the Downy Infusions Calm TV Commercial that shows a cute little boy who is awakened by a thunder and lightning storm outside.  As he runs down the hall scared to Mommy and climbs onto her bed, he smells a fragrance coming from one of the blankets that immediately calms him by the lavender scent. Instead of staying in bed with his Mommy, he grabs the blanket and goes back to his bed smelling it all the way.  While I could write about either one of these, the inspiration came from my “four-legged son” Jake, who like the frightened young boy, is also terrified by thunderstorms and goes running to his “Mommy.”  We always know when a storm is coming because Jake starts shaking like a leaf and incessantly panting.  And last night was no different, he was a mess and would not calm down.  I remember one day, my wife sent me these photos because Jake was freaking out so bad that he pushed his way into the shower and then tried climbing onto the bed.

Now as you may be chuckling, it’s actually really sad to see him suffering so bad from the anxiety of the impending storm.  No amount of petting or hugging or soothing words could settle Jake down.  Only one thing helps him…

His ThunderShirt.  Forgive me if this seems like a promotion, but it really works (and I receive no kickbacks for saying so, hahaha!)  The website says that it…

“Applies gentle, constant pressure, similar to swaddling an infant.”

In the post ★ Thought for the Day – Annihilating Anxiety ★, I shared Philippians 4:6-7 (NASB) which says:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

In the post, we talked about how if we go to God with our anxieties, He WILL be help us through anything!!  A common misconception of Christianity is that once you give your life over to God, and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, everything in your life should be sunshine and roses!  BUT THAT SIMPLY IS NOT TRUE!  We live in a fallen, broken world in which God-fearing, Jesus believing, Holy Spirit filled Christians lose their jobs, contract cancer, or experience the death of a loved one.  However, the Bible offers encouragement throughout the pages which can help us to deal with our worry and fear, which is of course is completely normal to experience as we go through the storms of life.  In the post ★ Thought for the Day – Be Strong and Courageous ★, I shared about our daughter heading to Atlanta for a three-day training camp before heading to Eswatini (formally known as Swaziland) and South Africa for a two-month Missions Trip, and the anxiety we were feeling having our first-born child on the other side of the world over 9,000 miles away from us!  God spoke to me through Joshua 1:6-9 to “Be strong and courageous” and trust that she would be alright.  Well the 2 months came and went, and she arrived safely home from Africa with incredible stories of how God worked in and through her.

Today I would like to unpack the context of the anchor passage of Philippians 4:6-7 because as you have heard me say in the past, context is everything.  Like anything, it always come down to a choice.

• Will you CHOOSE to WORRY or TRUST God?
• Will you CHOOSE to TRY TO CONTROL EVERYTHING or LET GO and LET GOD HANDLE IT?
• Will you CHOOSE to LISTEN TO THE LIES OF DEVIL that God is not good, or WILL YOU REMEMBER how He took care of you in the past and BELIEVE that God is faithful?

So, let’s look at the verses that bookend our anchor passage that can help us find where true comfort can be found.  Philippians 4:4-5 (NLT) says:

“Always be full of joy in the Lord.  I say it again—rejoice!  Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do.  Remember, the Lord is coming soon.”

That is a tough one, right?  To “always be full of joy,” easier said than done, but the way we gain victory is “in the Lord,” not through “white-knuckle” effort on our part.  The only think we must do is choose to believe that the Lord is good, that He is for us and not against us, and that He is able to do more than we can ever expect!  As we do this, then the need of a “security blanket” to comfort us through the “storms” will not be necessary.  Comfort which typically is not a blanket or ThunderShirt but rather something that comes from a bottle, prescription or something altogether illegal.  Comfort items that before I came to Christ, I tried to fill the void in my heart but to no avail!  Depression, fear, anxiety WILL NEVER BE CURED with another drink, pill or _______ (fill in the blank.)  If only I knew the truth of Philippians 4 back then!

Let’s look at the other book end which is Philippians 4:8-9 (NLT) which is the application portion…

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.  Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me — everything you heard from me and saw me doing.  Then the God of peace will be with you.”

What we focus on is what we will experience.  We need to “keep putting into practice” and as we do our faith will be built up and our worry will wither away!  It is all about discipline and training ourselves to look to God instead of whatever “blanket” we got to which only covers the problem, it will never fix the root issue!  I will close with this truth from Jimmy Evans,

“Fear is expecting the Devil to move.  Faith is expecting God to move.” 

And in John 16:33 (The Passion Translation) Jesus made this promise…

“And everything I’ve taught you is so that the peace which is in me will be in you and will give you great confidence as you rest in me. For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world!””

Through a relationship with Jesus, you can conquer the world!

If you want to develop that relationship, check out these posts:

★ Thought for the Day – I Hate Religion and I’m a Christian… ★

★ Thought for the Day – I Hate Religion and I’m a Christian…Part 2 ★ 

“The Power of Peace” by Jimmy Evans. He shares a message about the gift and power of God’s peace and how to fight for it in our lives.

 

 

★ Thought for the Day – What is Your Download Speed? ★

Do you know what this is?

If you are old enough to recognize this, here is a trip down memory lane so that you can listen what internet connectivity sounded like back in 1990-something!  Click this link to Hear

For those who have never experienced the dial-up connection speed of the classic 56k modem, it would sometimes take 5-10 minutes to connect to the World Wide Web and many times it would fail, making you start the process all over again.  Those were dark days for browsing the internet and sending/receiving emails!  Hahaha!  What a different world we live in today as we now walk around with supercomputers in the palm of our hand, and if it takes 5 seconds to load a web page, or if an email does not send immediately it feels like forever!  Today the “FCC has defined broadband, or fast internet, as internet with download speeds of at least 25 Mbps and upload speeds of at least 3 Mbps since 2015.”  Many people geek out on download speeds but did you know that there was an Old Testament character who had a download speed that crushed 25 Mbps.

Today’s Thought was inspired from a passage that is not widely preached or read…2 Kings 6:24-30 (NLT) which says:

“Some time later, however, King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army and besieged Samaria. As a result, there was a great famine in the city. The siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a cup of dove’s dung sold for five pieces of silver.

Forgive the introduction but can you say EWWWWWW… “a cup of dove’s dung sold for five pieces of silver!!!”  That must have been one long siege that not only was it worth so much, but that the people were actually so hungry that they ate dove’s feces!!!  Yuck!  Okay, back to the passage…

“One day as the king of Israel (Jehoram) was walking along the wall of the city, a woman called to him, “Please help me, my lord the king!”

He answered, “If the Lord doesn’t help you, what can I do? I have neither food from the threshing floor nor wine from the press to give you.” But then the king asked, “What is the matter?”

She replied, “This woman said to me: ‘Come on, let’s eat your son today, then we will eat my son tomorrow.’ So we cooked my son and ate him. Then the next day I said to her, ‘Kill your son so we can eat him,’ but she has hidden her son.”

When the king heard this, he tore his clothes in despair. And as the king walked along the wall, the people could see that he was wearing burlap under his robe next to his skin.” 

2 Kings 6:24-30 is one of the most disturbing passages ever!  I cannot believe that the two women even discussed the idea of killing their children, and then worse yet eating them!  But if that’s not sick enough, the fact that one of the women did kill her son with and eat him with the other woman is absolutely unbelievable!!!  I believe if I were in that situation, I would sacrifice myself first!  Disturbing!!!!  I looked up this passage in a commentary and they pointed out that God warned Israel that this curse would come upon the Israelites if they rejected the covenant they made with Him, I don’t have time to unpack this, but check out Deuteronomy 28:52-53 for the context.  But what I wanted to point was what King Jehoram said in 2 Kings 6:31:

“May God strike me and even kill me if I don’t separate Elisha’s head from his shoulders this very day,” the king vowed.”

God promised back in Deuteronomy that a curse was coming if the people disobeyed Him but instead of blaming God, King Jehoram decided to take it out on the Prophet Elisha that the siege happened and was ready to kill him!  It was 2 Kings 6:32-33 (NLT) that blew me away when I read it the other morning!

“Elisha was sitting in his house with the elders of Israel when the king (Jehoram) sent a messenger to summon him.  But before the messenger arrived, Elisha said to the elders,

“A murderer (the King of Israel) has sent a man to cut off my head.  When he arrives, shut the door and keep him out.  We will soon hear his master’s steps following him.”

While Elisha was still saying this, the messenger arrived.  And the king said, “All this misery is from the Lord!  Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?””

Did you catch it??  Elisha got an instant download from God that danger was approaching!  How amazing is that?  The Prophet Elisha was so connected to God that he received an immediate alert that danger was coming for him.  In the post, ★ Thought for the Day – The Holy Spirit is Our Spider Sense ★, we looked at how the Holy Spirit is our “early warning system” about the activities of the enemy, similar to how Spiderman, The Holy Spirit is “Our Spider Sense.”  Just like Elisha, when we have a connection to the Holy Spirit, we will have his protection.  Long before Elisha, God revealed in Job 33:14-18 (NLT) that:

“For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it.  He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds.  He whispers in their ears and terrifies them with warnings.  He makes them turn from doing wrong; he keeps them from pride.  He protects them from the grave, from crossing over the river of death.”

God is always speaking to us; the question is are we listening?  Just like God had promised Israel that He would bless them if they would obey, the same is true for us.  In Joel 2:12-13 (NLT), the prophet gave A Call to Repentance…

“That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.”  Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.  He is eager to relent and not punish.”

And just a few verses late in Joel 2:28 (NLT), the Lord made this promised:

“Then, after doing all those things,
    I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
    Your old men will dream dreams,
    and your young men will see visions.”

The amazing thing is that throughout history, God has been speaking to us, calling us back to Himself, desiring a relationship with you and I!  You may be saying to yourself, these passages are all from the Old Testament well I am glad you asked.  In Acts 2:17 (NLT), as Peter was addressing the people on the Day of Pentecost, he quoted Joel 2:28!

“‘In the last days,’ God says,
     ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions,
     and your old men will dream dreams.”

I truly believe that we are living in the last days and that God is pouring out His Spirit for all who will seek Him… Today, you have the choice, will you open the book and find out for yourself!

I love the Bible and all that it offers…HOPE, LOVE and the PROMISE that God will never leave us or forsake us, as well as the truth of Romans 10:13 (NLT)…

“For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

The choice is yours!

Want to dig deeper?  If you are interested to read more on this topic check out these posts called:

★ Thought for the Day – The End is Near…? ★

★ Thought for the Day – Annihilating Anxiety ★

 

And if that is not enough here is a 3-part series about breaking through in your walk, through Prayer, the Word and Worship

★ “Back to the Basics” – Pursuit #1 – Opening the Pipeline ★

★ “Back to the Basics” – Pursuit #2 – What Are You Feeding On? ★

★ “Back to the Basics” – Pursuit #3 – Adoration That Matters ★

 

★ Thought for the Day – Fully Known ★

Today is my 45^th birthday which has been quite relaxing!!  For the first time since I started working, I took this day off.  Not sure why, but I started thinking this year about things that I have not done before like taking off for my birthday, growing a full beard and really wanting to go to Colorado to escape the oppressive heat Texas has been under for the past few months.  Well the first 2 can be checked off so I guess 2 out 3 isn’t bad.

Yesterday, a cold front came in so though I did not get to Colorado for my birthday, I am getting to enjoy some cooler temps which allowed me to go for an 11-mile bike ride, something that I have not enjoyed since the heat came in June!  It got me thinking about how blessed I feel not that I have been a follow of Jesus since 1998 and how much I know that God loves me.  He has blessed me so much even though for so many years I wanted nothing to do with Him!  God has blessed me with a beautiful wife and (2) amazing daughters who are this Daddy’s pride and joy!  I also had a great mother who sacrificed so much for our family, raising my brother, sister and I as a single mother working herself to the bone to provide for us.  She passed away in 2016, but through our whole life, she taught us the value of family and about being a person of integrity; two values that I strive to embody myself and pass-on to my daughters.  I would not be the man I am without her tireless efforts to model the right way to live.  (If you’re are interested you can read this post called ★ Thought for the Day – Tribute to My Mom ★).  Well today being my birthday and all, I have just been dwelling on the Goodness of God and how His mercy has never failed me!  All my life He has been right by my side!

Psalms 139:13-18 (ESV) is so beautiful reminder of God’s omnipresence!!

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!  How vast is the sum of them!  If I would count them, they are more than the sand.  I awake, and I am still with you.”

God knows me so intimately, He “knitted me together in my mother’s womb!” and “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”  He knows everything I need before I even know it and has planned out every day of my life before a single had passed!!  Wow!  As I type this, tears are welling up in me because of His great love for me!!  Thank you, Father, for your love!!  Back in May of this year my church had an amazing conference called the “Men’s Summit.”

The theme was…“Live to Know God and Make Him Known”

Which was based on 1 Corinthians 8:2-3 (ESV)…

“If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.”

Isn’t that incredible?  If you love God, you are completely known by Him.  He was there at our conception molding us within our mother’s womb and is with us every day!  I am so thankful for that reality!

There is a song called “Goodness of God” from Bethel Music that I have listened to it over and over which conveys what I have been feeling.

“And all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God”

Now the second part of the Men’s Summit Theme is to “Make Him Known,” that is what this blog is all about!  I write about the “goodness of God,” because no one wants to hear me sing!  Hahaha!  Now I am sure that there may be readers of this post that may question whether God really is faithful or good, but I can tell you with all sincerely and assurance that regardless of whether you want God in your life, He wants you!  If you want to learn more you can check out this post called ★ Thought for the Day – I Hate Religion and I’m a Christian… ★ 

To learn the difference between a religion vs. a relationship with God through His Son Jesus.  Another good way to get to know God, is to get in His Word, The Bible.  Proverbs 23:12 (ESV) says:

“Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge.”

You cannot grow unless you are willing to apply yourself.  As a result, I KNOW WHO I AM, and you can too!

I promise if you do, your life will be forever changed, and you too can feel what it is liked to be FULLY KNOWN.

If you want to dig deeper on this topic, check out these related posts:

★ “Back to the Basics” – Pursuit #2 – What Are You Feeding On? ★

★ Back to the Basics – Just Believe! ★

If you want to watch the “Goodness of God” from Bethel Music click here: