Author: Jody Abar

With the family out-of-town in Ohio, I once again returned to Elevation Church – Charleston Extension this week.  This time I met up with my friends who weren’t there the last time my wife and I attended.  Up until now, all of the messages in my blog have been my own thoughts, my own ideas…..well, what God has placed on my heart……but this post I will give credit where credit is due.  This was Pastor Steven Furtick’s sermon this morning.  And I do believe that this message can reach out and help someone right now, who may be in a dark spot….so I am going to share it.

The scripture this is based upon is in Acts 27 and 28.  Paul is on his way to Rome, and even though he cautioned the crew that setting sail was a bad idea, they chose to go anyways.  So a brief synopsis is that they were shipwrecked on the small island of Malta.  As the inhabitants rescued them they went to build a fire.  Paul reached down to grab a piece of wood and was bit by a viper.  The inhabitants at first thought he must be a murderer or criminal, but as the viper bite had no affect on him they began to think he was a god.  They were invited to the village chiefs house for dinner, where Paul healed the chiefs father, and later when they set sail again, the inhabitants provided them all that they would need on their journey.

Reason

The first point Pastor Furtick made was about reason.  Sometimes in life when we find ourselves in a bad spot, we spend all of our time trying to figure out the reason we are there, but if we stay in the reason too long (why this something happened) we will eventually drown.  In these storms in our lives, we don’t need to know the reason we are there, we just need to know that God is there with us…..whatever happened, has happened for a reason.  Often when we find ourselves in the storm we blame it on the devil, but it’s not always the devil, but the decisions that we have made that have placed us there.  And what’s even crazier when you think about it is that sometimes it’s not our own decisions, but those of others that have placed us where we are.  The point is, if we stay stuck in the reason, we will miss the revelation.  Has the devil tried to convince you that if you had a God, you wouldn’t be going through what you are going through?

Response

So now they were stuck on Malta.  And this is where Pastor Furtick busted out a true revelation on how you should respond to these types of situations.  He pulled out some scripture from the book of Taylor Swift.  “Players gonna play, play, play and haters gonna hate, hate, hate.  Just shake it off, shake it off.”  You see, faith doesn’t prevent me from getting bit.  Faith is just there to get me through it.  After Paul shook the snake off, the people all just stood around and watched.  “But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead.  But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god (Acts 28:6.)”  People will change their minds about how you handle your situations, but our response can’t be to those people.

We must all go through Malta at some point in our lives.  When we are in these spots, are we going to perceive this situation as misery, or as a mission?  Opportunities in life are byproducts of the adversities that you go through.  You see, there is always a reason that you are somewhere, and there was a reason that Paul was shipwrecked on Malta.  “And it happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with recurrent fever and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after he had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him (Acts 28:8.)”  There is always a reason that you are where you are.  And what’s crazy…….the same hand that was bitten by the snake was the same hand that healed Publius’s father.  So it all comes down to this…..it doesn’t matter the reason you are in that place you are in, but what matters in your response to that situation.

Release

Here’s the real deal…..Paul thought that he needed Malta…..but it was Malta that really needed Paul.  While they were on the ship getting ready for the wreck, God was positioning them for a revival.  Your supply that you will need in your “situation” will be provided to you in your assignment.  And maybe, just maybe…..what you are going through….it isn’t even about you.  It’s about someone else, and what you are meant to do for them.  Because in the big picture, in Paul’s misadventures in Malta, on his way to Rome…..and in your life….is that while the winds are controlling the boat, God is controlling the wind.

Once again, this was all Pastor Furtick, not my own today….but I believed it was a powerful message.  If you would like to hear it in its entirety, I use the Elevation Church app to listen daily.

However, even though this wasn’t my own, I do pray that when you find yourself in a storm you will turn to God.  That you will ask for guidance and provision.  Because you are there for a reason.  God has placed you there to either teach you a lesson….or even better, to help you get someone else through their storm.  Pray that God will use you.  Pray that God will bless others through you.  And when the time is right, you will leave your “Malta” and continue on with the path God has placed in front of you.

 

 

God is everywhere.  God is in everything.  And even though you may not see Him, know He is there.  I don’t have to look very far for the proof either.  I want to say ever since last Friday I have known God is in all things, but that is probably the first time I really recognized His presence up close and personal.  I know that He has been working in my life for some time now.  We don’t always see what’s going on, but know His plan is always in action.

Last night I saw God again…..this time in the form of a policeman.  Not personally, but through the experiences of my cousin.  She was going through a little bit of a tough time yesterday.  She is involved in the same business that I am and had made a post on social media about some products.  She got a response from someone telling her that the products they use are better.  She texted me, discouraged, saying that this is why she didn’t try harder.  That everyone is always so negative to her.  I told her that people do what people will do, and you know your results and that you know the truth.  I’m not sure if she felt better, but she decided to go for a walk.

This is when it happened.  I later saw her post on social media detailing the story of her encounter….an encounter with a random person, on a random night, on a random street, who I believe was sent to her while she was down.  While on her walk, a policeman rolled up next to her.  I’m not sure the exact details of the conversation, but it came up that he used the same products that she does and that he loves them.  He gave her encouragement, told her to keep going and never quit.  He rode next to her to the end of her street.

So in her moment of need, God put an Encourager in her path.  You can’t tell me that any of that is coincidence.  That police officer was pulled to that street….at that time.  And my cousin was pulled to that street….at that time.  God is always there.  God is always putting encouragement in your path, if you will just open up your heart long enough to see it.

I think I used to probably be a pretty negative person.  These days I don’t have time for that.  I have been blessed in too many ways to even count anymore.  So I spend my days trying to encourage others, trying to help others see the greatness they have in themselves.  And I don’t do it for my own gratification, but I pray everyday for God to allow me to somehow bless others the way that I have been blessed.  Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you are doing (1 Thessalonians 5:11.)”

I think sometimes its hard to encourage and to make others feel better…to help them.  Often all we can think about are our own problems…..how are we gonna get out of this situation?  Why me God, when are you gonna fix all of this?  But as Paul told the Thessalonians, it is one of our duties to love and encourage others as we go through life.  “Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; and may the Lord cause you in increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His Saints (Thessalonians 3:11-13.)”

So I say….encourage others when they are down, share your spirit for the good.  Find people who you can help through their troubles.  Find a way to leave this place better off than it was when you first arrived.  That policeman had no idea what my cousin had gone through that day.  He was just at work, driving along, and stumbled across a girl walking in the dark.  He encouraged her and touched her life in the EXACT moment she needed it the most.  Don’t think, for one second, that your act of kindness to someone just happened to occur when it did.  God pulled you to that spot and at that time.

So I will leave you today with this message that Paul told the Galatians, “The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.  Do not be deceived, God is not mocked;  for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.  Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.  So then, while we have the opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith (Galatians 6:6-10.)”

I pray that you find someone to encourage today.  Be on the lookout for someone in need.  Help them.  Even if it is just saying hello and smiling.  You have no idea what that person may be looking for.  I pray that you find the encouragement you need when you are in your valley.  I pray that “random policeman” finds you in the midst of your storm.

 

If you are like me, whenever something big happens in my life, I often find myself reaching for my phone….looking for that perfect person to call and share with.  Often times, its in the bad times that I reach out….and its usually to my mother or father.  Who do you reach out to in times of struggle…..your mom, your dad, a spouse, a brother, sister, or even a friend?  During these desperate times we are just looking for that person to listen and help in any way that we may need.  And in those most desperate of times, I know for me, that I will redial that number….over and over and over again until someone picks up.

So we journey once again back to my son and his soccer camp.  He really struggled the first few days.  He was homesick, lonely, scared at times.  We sent him with his phone so he could call us at night, but that phone became a crutch….every 5 minutes all day long I would get a text or a call.  It drove me crazy.  I do have a job.

Now fast forward to Tuesday.  His coaches are amazing.  They reached out and had him eat meals with them, having him help “strategize” sessions.  He felt important and made a huge improvement.  He still called……a lot……but now he was happy, and even though he was still a little homesick, he was much much better (Thank you very much coaching staff, if any of you are reading this, for your compassion and care for my son.  You will never know how much I really appreciate all you do.)

So on my way to work today is when it really hit me.  In my sons most desperate of moments, and now his happiest, he was just reaching out to anyone who would listen.  That’s exactly what I do every day now….but I am reaching out to God.  David says in Psalms, “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!  You have relieved me in my distress;  Be gracious to me and hear my prayer (Psalms 4:1-2).  He goes on to say, “To You, O Lord, I call;  My rock, do not be deaf to me, I will become like those who go down to the pit.  Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary (Psalms 28:1-2.)

I used to get mad when my wife’s friends would call, and she would spend all night listening to their issues.  What if God put us on hold…..or he just ignored our call?  It’s a scary thought, but the truth is that it would never happen.  He is always there…..in fact he picks up the receiver before you ever place the phone call.  We are His children, and just like my son reached out to me all week and I tried my best to listen and understand, God is our Father, and He does the same for us.

The coolest part is that Peyton began reaching out to God too.  If he got down, he would pray for strength and comfort. He told me that the first thing he does every morning now is pray.   His meme and pops taught him that over the last few weeks while he was with them.  So my son is learning to make that phone call to tech support in times of need…..we can’t fix everything on our own…in fact, we can’t fix anything on our own.  God is our strength.  God is our courage.  God is our problem-solver.  God is in control.

So know that when God’s phone may seem busy….like he isn’t answering you…just know this…”Do not fear, for I am with you;  Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous hand (Isaiah 41:10.)

I pray that your line to God is never busy……that you never find discomfort and doubt when you think He may not be there…..because He is.  Those times that you may seem lost are the times that you will grow in faith the most.  I pray that your battery never runs out, and that you continue to reach out to God when you are in need.

So, I’m back.  Dallas was AMAZING!!!!!  I was slapped in the face by God, about 5:00pm CST on last Friday afternoon, with him saying, “Get your eyes off the ground, pick your head up and look in front of you……it’s all in front of you…..let go of your oars and GO!!!!”  I know my wife would agree that she had the same experience.  There is a cloud in our lives, and like Elijah (1 Kings 18:41-46), we have complete faith that we are about to go places…….and even though when we left that stadium our faith alone may not have been enough, it was at the exact moment we decided to follow that path that the rain came down, in the parking lot of my brother-in-laws hotel……..from a small cloud on a sunny day…….and we were showered with God’s blessings.

So many things came out of this past weekend, but I really must start writing again with what’s going on in our lives on THIS day.  Yesterday we made it back in town in just enough time to get our oldest son packed and off to soccer camp.  He is 8, and this soccer camp is his first time away from home, alone, without family.  This camp is a week long and he was so pumped for yesterday to come so he could get down to Savannah and “go to college.”

It didn’t take long for things to change….it never does, does it?  Last night he started getting homesick.  The texts started about 9:30pm and then the phone call just before 10.  He was crying…he couldn’t sleep….he wanted to come home.  I told him to take deep breaths, everything would be okay and tomorrow would be a lot better.  We got off the phone and I can only assume he went to sleep because we didn’t hear from him again until this morning.

Its been raining down there, so this morning they didn’t start immediately like they were supposed to.  He called me again and I could barely get him to stop crying.   It is such a helpless feeling, being a father, so far away, with your son needing comfort.  That must be how God feels.  We reach out….we call on our cellphones, and although it is hard for Him too, he knows there are times in our lives that we must grow, we must learn, we must have faith, that even though we are alone, He is there.  “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me (Psalms 23:4.)”

I talked to my son just a little over an hour ago.  He is doing a little better.  He said he talked to his mommy and he didn’t know what she said, but whatever it was it really encouraged him.  I sent him a video on his phone….Steven Furtick, “Do It Again.”  He watched it and felt much better.  He told me he hasn’t cried as much today as yesterday and that he is pretty sure he won’t cry at all tomorrow.  He is slowly adjusting….slowly learning, slowly having a little bit more faith that everything will be okay.

I don’t know how many times I can write about having faith….but everyday, in another way it rears itself again.  Faith is essential to living out God’s plan for your life.  “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1.)  I have faith my son will be just fine.  I have faith he will grow from this experience, he will learn, and he will come home better of for going through it.  I have faith that I am on the right track, that God placed us in that stadium, at that time, in those circumstances, for a reason…..a reason that only my wife and I understand…..not the people around us who watched us completely fall apart only seconds into the final speaker of the day.

The rain that came down an hour later was like Jesus coming out of the tomb three days after His crucifixion.  It was as if God wanted us to know for sure, that what we had just experienced wasn’t just some sort of coincidence.  And so once again, without even really asking something of God, it just appeared….the strength we need to proceed.  The encouragement we need to move forward.  And I know God is watching over my son, and today as the rain comes down, I know my son is being propelled through his storm, and he will come out the other side a greater and more faithful person.

I pray each of you will ask God to open your eyes and heart for your purpose….I pray you won’t quit just short of it, but that you will have the faith to learn, grow, persist, and fight your way through to the end.

 

 

This is my last night at home before we head off to Dallas for a few days for a business trip.   While we are away, my mother and stepfather will be heading this way to bring the boys back from their 2 week vacation.  I love having houseguests….but we all know what is involved in preparing for them.  So 3 days ago we put together a list of chores and have slowly been checking them off the list.  Today was my favorite day……bathroom cleaning day.  I’m not sure why I get to have this chore (my wife says I clean better than her) but I do.  With everything now checked off the list, the last thing I will do is sweep the floors in the morning while she is dropping the dogs off at the puppy hotel for the week.

Do you know that God is also “preparing your house” for things he plans for your life?  I was reading the story of David in 1 Samuel tonight.  That kid was the smallest and weakest of his brothers.  He didn’t get to do cool things like go to war…..He was stuck at home tending the sheep.  Even though he lived what would seem an uninspiring life, God was already preparing him for great things.  He was training him to use his slingshot when predators would come to attack the flock.  He was preparing him for challenges he would eventually face later in life.  He was preparing him to, one day, become the King of Israel.

We all know the story about what happens to David…..its one of the biggest stories of the Bible.  One day his father sends him to the front lines to drop off some provisions for his brothers and the next thing you know He has accepted Goliath’s challenge for a Mano a Mano battle of the greatest proportions.  What Goliath didn’t know was that David had God on his side…God had been preparing David’s house for this moment his whole life.  As Goliath taunted David, David replied, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.  This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you (1 Samuel 17:45-46.)  You see, David may not have known what his house would eventually look like, but he definitely knew that there was a foundation in place.  He had faith in God’s prep work.

David isn’t the only houseguest God prepared for.  We are all destined to be house guests of God, if we all just accept God’s Grace that he sent down in his son Jesus.  Jesus, comforting His Disciples before His crucifixion said, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.  In my Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.  If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also (John 14:1-4.)”  I’m pretty sure God isn’t up there cleaning the bathrooms, awaiting your arrival, but Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection was God’s plan to prepare His house for your arrival one day.  How comforting is it to know that God has prepared a place for us to be with Him someday?

So as I get ready to head out-of-town I know my house is ready for my mother’s arrival……the unfortunate truth is that all the work we put in this week to get ready will be gone in the first hour when the boys bring out all there toys, and notebooks, and pens, and juice boxes, and apple sauces.  But when my mother first steps into the house I’m sure she will appreciate the effort we made to make her feel at home…….and those bathrooms are definitely the cleanest in town.

God has prepared his house.  He has checked off everything on his to do list.  Now all you have to do is accept His invitation.  I pray that you accept that invite.  I pray you open your hearts to see that God loves you and has prepared your room at His house since before time began.   I pray for you all to have a wonderful rest of your week and I will be back soon.

 

I once had a friend in college….we were only friends for a short amount of time……but through our relationship and the things we did together…it eventually lead me to meet my wife.  After I left college I have never spoken to him again.  Without him there in that one moment, that series of events that lead me to a baseball game in Ohio would have never taken place.

I believe, very deeply, that God places people in our lives for a reason…not by chance.  Each relationship you have with another person is there to get you to where you are supposed to be or to help teach us a lesson that God wants us to learn.  Those people are either there to open doors in our lives, or they are there to close doors we aren’t supposed to walk through.

It’s almost nearly impossible to see those people for who they may later become…..when we originally meet them.  But as you look back on how your life has progressed, you can point to certain events that those people were a part of….certain times when they helped you get through a tough time or helped put you on a path you didn’t even know existed.

For example….through some ventures outside of my day-to-day job, I have come across people in other cities and states, that otherwise I would have never met.  People that have become close friends and people who have led me, to what I believe, is one of the reasons I started this blog in the first place.  Right now, heavy on my heart….is a couple that I met just under a year ago….we met for only one day (but have continued to have contact with via social media.)  I don’t think I could be more certain that they were placed in my life for a reason…to lead me to do something greater with my life…..something God may be calling me to do.

Some may say that its easy to look back on circumstances and make them fit into what you may “want” to happen…..but I just don’t believe that.  I have such a strong faith these days that God’s purpose for my life, and those around me is far greater than just me piecing together a bunch of “coincidences.”

God knew who we would be and what we would do before time began…..so I just don’t see it as coincidental that these people, placed in our lives, just happened to fall into God’s plan.  Could you imagine watching Star Wars, and out of no where Iron Man just stumbles onto the Millenium Falcon?  God doesn’t work like that.  God told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you (Jeremiah 1:5.)”

He knew all of us….He knew how all of our lives would intertwine to achieve His master plan.  So what effect could you be having on someone’s life?  Think about it for a minute.  Everything you do affects every person you have contact with in either a positive way or a negative way.  Are you helping those around you grow into their potential, or are you assisting the devil in crushing their dreams?

As far as all of the people I have met within the past year…..their acts of kindness and acceptance have put into motion something that I can’t even possibly know the outcome.  But what I do know is that these people haven’t been placed into my life by coincidence, but by the Grace of God, ultimately to fulfill His plans for my life.

I pray that you may find those people who are propelling you to greatness, either knowingly or unknowingly….I pray that you are the light in someone else’s life as well……That the affect you are having on someone else is as powerful as the people who are pushing me towards the unknown.

 

I have no great words of wisdom today, but I would like to share with you about our Church experience we had this morning.  As I have mentioned in some of my previous posts, we have been listening to many of Pastor Steven Furtick’s sermons over the past few weeks.  For those of you that don’t know, he is the Pastor of Elevation Church, based out of Charlotte, North Carolina.  I think they currently have 13 campuses, but they also have a huge online following.

A few of our friends who live in Charleston recently began to gather in their homes in an effort to eventually bring an Elevation Church to Charleston.  Yesterday we received an e-invite off of Facebook.  As we were watching TV last night, my wife looked at me and said, “Do you want to go to the watch party tomorrow, since the boys are out-of-town with their grandparents?”  She didn’t have to twist my arm too hard.  I texted our friends in Charleston for information, but they were heading out of town and wouldn’t be there.  My wife asked if I still wanted to go.  We both agreed that it’s not about who was there, so we decided to still attend.

Now, for some reason, I assumed that this was going to take place at like a community clubhouse.  I don’t know why that made it seem more comfortable, but for some reason it did.  As the GPS said we had arrived, we were sitting at the end of a long driveway to a house.  We drove on down and there were a few people on the front porch.  We got out of the car and she said, “Now this may be out of my comfort zone.”  I was right there with her.  We headed up to the porch and the guy made a comment that if I showed up in my Mississippi State polo in the fall we might have some problems….since this is clearly South Carolina and Clemson territory.  I knew at that point we would be okay…….not to mention the Krispy Kreme donuts he said were in the kitchen.

We went in, found some seats, and as 11:30 got closer, the living room started to fill up.  All in all I would say there were around 40 people in the room…….not counting all the children that had been sent down to the basement to play.  As the service started, it was like I was in a real church.  The host went over to his audio cabinet and said, “Let’s turn this up loud enough we don’t have to hear ourselves sing.”  So I’m in the back of the room watching all these people worship God like this was a real Church.  It kind of went back to what our Pastor said, I believe just last week, that a Church isn’t a building, but the people.

The sermon was by Holly Furtick, Pastor Steven’s wife, and while I sat listening, I began to realize why we were there.  She was talking about being a mother, about how hectic life can get, and those times you question if you are really the person for the job.  She used Mary as an example…..when the Angel came down and said she would be the mother of Jesus, and how she reacted.

After it was over we said our farewells, they invited us back again and we left.  It was quit amazing to see the work of God, in a living room, with all kinds of different people……white, black, young, old, men, women, teenagers…..all worshiping God.  If we wouldn’t have gotten insecure….gotten out of our comfort zone we would never have been able to experience this.

And what’s even cooler, when you look at is, is the similarity of this small “Church” and the parable of the mustard seed in Matthew.  “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;  and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR COME and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES (Matthew 13:31-32.)  The mustard seed represents the church….and I sat in this smallest of churches, in a living room, watching God work.

Who knows what will happen with this extension of Elevation Church in Charleston?  But what I do know is the size of the building does not determine what God can do in our lives.  It is the people, the gathering, the worshiping……the being together as God’s children that allows his work to be done.

My wife is such an amazing woman.  When she sets her mind on something, there is no stopping her.  For just over the past year, she has been on a journey, a weight loss journey….a journey to better her health.  For most of us, one day we hit that day when our body starts fighting against us….the pounds keep adding on, no matter what we seem to do to combat it.  But at some point in our lives we have to put our foot down….we have to drop the cookies, get off the couch, and do something about it.

This woman, I can’t even tell you in words, how proud I am of her.  There is no quit in her, and she continues to crush her goals…everyday she is one day closer to where she wants to be.  Just this morning we were out running in the blistering South Carolina heat.  I know she wanted to quit.  I could hear her talking to herself.  I don’t know what she was saying, but she never stopped.  She never gave up.  She pushed through until the end.

She has goals.  She has a destination she sees for her life.  What are your goals?  Is it to get a better job?  Is it to be able to pay the car payment?  Is it just to be able to walk 2 miles without quitting?  Goals are the small steps we take along the way towards what we really want in life….Goals are nice, but when it comes to real satisfaction, dreams are where it’s at.

Now what are your dreams?  What are you fighting for……fighting with everything you have?  When the devil keeps pushing and pushing and pushing you back, and you are doing all you can to keep moving in a forward direction…..what is it he is trying to stop you from?

I have a dream for my life….I want to never have to work a real job again….not because I’m lazy….but because I don’t ever want to hear my kids say, “Why can’t you go on that field trip with me?” or “Why do I have to go to aftercare today?”  And all along the way the devil is telling me, “Get back in that car and go to work!!!  You will never be good enough to spend all of your time with your kids.”  The devil will never win!!!  We know the end of the story….its in Revelation, it’s just a matter of time.

God has great plans for our lives.  God wants us to prosper.  God wants us to achieve.  There is nothing that can get in our way if we turn to God for strength, for encouragement, and his Divine Intervention.  In Jeremiah it says, ” For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for the welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all of your heart.  I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile (Jeremiah 29:11-14).”

Do you ever feel in exile, like God is keeping you from where you want to be?  He’s not.  He is there…..He is always there, waiting for you to come to Him for that guidance.  I pray every day that God opens my eyes, to let me see what his plans are for my life.  I’m never going to see the big picture…..I may not even see the next step I’m supposed to take, but I have faith….faith that WHEN I take that step that He is pushing me towards, I will go where I’m supposed to go.

Don’t give up.  Don’t stop fighting for that plan that God has placed in your heart.  Don’t let the devil tell you that you aren’t worthy…..because that is just a pure LIE.

Jesus Christ died on the cross to give you that hope and that everlasting life.  That cross wasn’t just a piece of wood that he was nailed to.  All of your fears, your despair, your anxieties, your negative thoughts, your “I can’t do this today” are all on that cross.  They all died with Jesus Christ that day.  And when He rolled that stone away three days later….guess what?  All that mess stayed in the tomb.  It never came back out.  It didn’t follow Jesus.  It’s gone.

I’m not saying days aren’t going to be hard, because they are sometimes.  We all have bad days.  But in those times of doubt, those times when you don’t think you can achieve your dream……with all your might you yell at the devil…….you tell him, “I’M NOT DONE YET!!!!  I’M NOT WHERE GOD WANTS ME TO BE!!!!!”  And then you keep going…you keep pushing forward….you keep fighting for that dream that God has placed in your heart.

God wants you to win.  God wants you to succeed.  So I leave you with this last thought of encouragement for those times you may not see that your dreams are just a few steps away.  “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6.)

 

 

 

 

You’ll have to bear with me today because I have a few stories to start out with, but in the end, hopefully the long road around will lead me back to the point I’m trying to make.

I have been listening to Steven Furtick sermons on the way to and from work for a few weeks now.  In his sermons he will say something like, “Touch 5 people next to you and tell them you are in the middle,” or “You are in the soil,” or whatever the topic is he is currently talking about.  Now this morning, like every morning, I said a quick prayer thanking God for the blessing of waking up for another day.  This is what I said this morning, “God, thank you for the blessing of waking up today, now reach and touch someone next to you and say I am blessed.”  Really….word for word.  I kinda stopped, but it seemed like something natural to say after listening to Pastor Furtick for as long as I have now.

Then I went to work, as I got closer, I started feeling anxious….not in a bad way.  I just felt as if something big was about to happen, or God was moving me towards something.  The first thing I did when I got there was text my wife and my mentor asking for them to pray for me.  They both responded back that they would. (By the way, a few minutes later I did feel a peace…..that’s the power of prayer.  Maybe I’ll write about that topic someday.)

Now I tell these quick little stories to get to my point.  With my prayer example, I have listened to the sermons so much it just came natural to say something like that.  And with my other situation, it just came natural to reach out to my close associations for a little help.  What you listen to, what you read, the people you hang out with have a major influence on your life.  They say that you are the average of the 5 closest people you hang out with and I am convinced now, more than ever that is true.

You may say, “Oh that’s not true.”  Well then tell me this…..Then why, those of you with children, do you watch for the “bad” kid at school to steer your child clear of?  You don’t want their bad habits to rub off on them.  Why do you steer clear of that person at work who is always complaining about something?

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not telling you to go out and clear your life of everyone.  I’m not telling you to go delete all your friends on Facebook.  But this is what I have come to discover.  In the past year, if I see something I don’t like on Facebook, I block it.  And I’m not doing it in a judgmental way……but I have learned that I, through God, am in control of my own happiness.  Those people don’t pay my bills.  Those people don’t take raise my children.  So why am I going to allow those people to negatively influence my life?  We only get one life…..one life to be happy, one life to influence others.

This message may be hard to read, and it may anger some of you…….that truly is not the outcome I had in mind when this topic showed up in my heart.  But over the last year, I have done a true inventory of the people in my life that I associate with, and want to spend my time around.  I have found so many new friends.  So many positive friends.  We all look to encourage each other on a daily basis, not tear each other down.  I’m always on the lookout for someone I can help everyday.  Someone who may need a bit of encouragement because of something they are going through.  This time last year I would never have done that.

So take a look at your life….is there someone who constantly brings you down?  It doesn’t mean you can’t be their friend anymore…just that you may want to spend a little more of your time with someone else.  Sometimes those people can be your family…….and its really hard to separate yourselves from them.  But I go back to my previous point, you are in control of your happiness, not someone else.

But here is the real question…..a question I am beginning to ask myself every day……am I in other people’s group of 5?  Am I someone who others think brings positivity into their lives?  Because like our group of 5….others are trying to bring their average up as well.

So what traits in your life are you trying to exemplify to ultimately join in someone else’s top 5?  Paul said to the Colossians, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.  The things you have heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace be with you (Colossians I 4:8).”

So if anyone were ever to be asked why they were so happy all of the time….why they were so positive….why they were so loving and helpful to other people, I would hope they would bring up my name and say it was because they were guilty by association.

I pray that we all find those positive people we need in our lives, and I pray that, most importantly, we are the positive people who others need in their lives.

Today I was called down to another team at work to help troubleshoot an ongoing problem with one of their airplanes.  This was their third day of looking at the problem, so a lot of time had already been spent on this issue.  After another day of troubleshooting, with everything working according to the blueprints, the last option was to ask the guys upstairs, who know a whole lot more than us, what they thought.  After looking at the blueprints, they told us there was absolutely nothing wrong;  even though the way this system was operating was strange, and not often seen, the system was working according to the blueprints.  It was working in normal operation.

You ever sit back and try to troubleshoot you life?  I know I do.  Even though I have faith, I still have times of doubt.  So I question myself…..”Am I where I’m supposed to be?  Am I doing what I’m supposed to be doing?  What if I did this, would that change how things are going right now?”  I think it’s completely normal to question our lives, but at some point we just have to let it go.

God has a plan for each and every one of us.  The hard part about getting through life is that we don’t know what this plan is.  The airplane, in my example, worked according to plan.  No matter how hard we tried to find something wrong with it, it was working the way it was supposed to.  Our lives are working according to God’s plan.  No matter how hard we try to find something wrong with them, they also, are working the exact way they are supposed to.

You think that Noah tried to troubleshoot his life?  I do.  When God told him to build an Ark, collect all these animals and get ready to set sail, I’m pretty sure for a few minutes he was thinking, “Ummm, I don’t even like animals that much,” or possibly, “God, I can’t even build a bookshelf without my Ikea instructions.”  What about Moses?  When God told him it was his job to take the Israelites from Egypt I’m sure for a quick second he was trying to figure out an excuse…….”You see God, uh, the Pharaoh told me that its my responsibility to make the bricks for the next two weeks.”  But both of their lives were working in normal operating conditions.

Even Jesus, in his darkest hour, had a few questions about exactly where He was in His life….whether His life was going the way it was supposed to or whether there may have possibly been another way.  He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. “And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done (Luke 22:41-42.)

If Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World is questioning if His life is working according to the blueprints God engineered, then of course I am going to go through times when I question my life.  So when the doubts creep in, the drain mast starts to heat up while the plane is on the ground (our troubleshooting issue), and things just really don’t seem like they are operating normally, just remember……you can’t break something that isn’t made to be broken.  We may see our lives as broken, but that’s not the way God sees our lives.  Like a quote I remember hearing once, “You can’t see the picture from inside the frame.”

By faith, we allow our lives to run their course, knowing that God’s purpose for us will be fulfilled.  James says, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4.)  AKA, ALL SYSTEMS OPERATING UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS!!!