Life of Fulfillment
Psalm 66:10-12 “For you, O God, have tested us; you have refined us as silver is refined …we went through fire and through water; but you brought us out to rich fulfillment.” Everywhere we turn, or so it seems, the world promises fulfillment, contentment, and happiness. But the contentment the world offers is fleeting and incomplete. Thankfully, the fulfillment that God offers is all encompassing and everlasting. Sometimes, amid the inevitable hustle and bustle of life here on earth, we can forfit – albeit temporarily – joy of Christ as we wrestle with the challenges of daily living. Yet God’s word is clear: fulfillment through Christ is available to all who seek it and claim it. Count yourself among that number. Seek first personal, transforming relationship with Jesus, and then claim the joy, the fulfillment, and the spiritual abundance that the Shepard offers His sheep. Find satisfaction in Him who made you, and only then find satisfaction in yourself as part of His creation. This is something I have learned over the past few months. It is sad I had to hit the bottom and realize this, but sometimes that is what it takes.
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Timetable
There is one thing I struggle with the most and that is waiting. When I go on sales calls I expect to close the deal that day and not have to wait for a decision, but we all know that does not happen all the time. Sometimes we have to go back many times before we close the deal and sometimes it takes time. We sometimes get to the point where we think it’s not going to happen then we start to move on. We look back and think I have put in the work and did the things I needed to do to close the sale, but did we. Sometimes it takes time for the person to really see what you have they really need. However it does take time with some people. Maybe they have a bad taste in their heart about your product or maybe they had a bad experience. Sometimes we just don’t know. We have to have patience and continue to show them the benefits and show them through actions. So take this into life we sometimes have to wait for things that we want. Is it that relationship we want with that special person but the timing is not right or is it something else. This brings me to this verse. 1 Peter 5:6 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is to wait. This is especially true when were in a hurry and when we want things to happen now, if not sooner! But Gods plan does not always happen in the way we would like or at the time of our own choosing. Our task – as believing Christians who trust in a benevolent, all knowing Father – is to wait patiently for God to reveal Himself. We human beings are, by nature, impatient. We know what we want, and we know exactly when we want it: RIGHT NOW! but, God knows better. He has created a world that unfolds according to his own timetable, not ours…thank goodness. Even though it is hard to sit back and wait. Will not the lords time be better that your time? The voice inside your head
How many times do we go through each day making decisions on what we want and what we think we need to do? Do we listen to the voice in our head that tells us what we should do? I remember a couple of years ago I interviewed for this Pharma Job after three interviews I received an offer for this job. I remember talking to my wife at the time and asking her what do you think. She asked what God says about it. I remember thinking I believe he wants me to have this Job, but I had this feeling that I should not take it, but it was more money and better benefits. So I went against that voice in my head and took the job. We sold our house and bought another house in the school district that we wanted to get our girls in and we thought all was well. She went to part time with her job so she could stay home with the girls more and all were going well we thought. I year later I received a call that I would be losing my job. This was a hard time for me I remember being angry with God and thinking why did you allow this to happen. I remember Him telling me I tried to tell you but you decided on your own. Things were tough over the next few months but God brought me through all this. A few years later I made another decision based on what I thought was right and not listen to God. I got caught up in the gym and dong things I should have not been doing. During this time not only did I take my off God I took it off other things in my life? Again I lost some things in my life because I made choices that I wanted and I did not listen to the voice in my head. I can tell you this God is working on me and bringing me out of the hole that I was in. However I will tell you that because I did things on my own I was in a Dark place. I write this sharing listen to God and don’t make decisions based on what you want because you will lose things in your life. However I do know God will use this chapter in my life to glorify His name. Acts 24:16 “I always do my best to have a clear conscience toward God and men.” When you’re about to do something that you know is wrong, a little voice inside your head has a way of speaking up. That voice, of course, is your conscience: an early-warning system designed to keep you out of trouble. If you listen to that voice, you’ll be okay; if you ignore it, you’re asking for headaches or heartbreaks, or both. Whenever you’re about to make an important decision, you should listen carefully to the quiet voice inside. Sometimes, of course, it’s tempting to do otherwise. From time to time you’ll be tempted to abandon your better judgment by ignoring your conscience. But remember: a conscience is a terrible thing to waste. So instead of ignoring that quiet little voice, pay careful attention to it. If you do, your conscience will lead you in the right direction – in fact, it’s trying to lead you right now so listen and learn. Forgiving
There are things in life that happens to us that hurt us and we don’t want to forgive of forget. The thing is where does that get us? There are things that people have done to me that I have held such a grudge over it. Instead of getting help over it I just let it eat at me. What does that do? It causes you as a person to waste energy thinking about it and not focusing on what is important. When you focus on those things you can’t do what is right in the situation. I have learned over this time in my life where I am today that I should have not wasted so much energy on what I thought I could not get over, but I did. By doing this it cost me friends and other things. I was such a selfish person and all I thought about was me and my needs and not looking at what others needed. I caused me to be an angry person and not fun to be around. I have learned I don’t have control over anything it is all in Gods hand. I have been very prideful. I was having a conversation with my daughters the other night and they told me that over the past year I was not the dad that they knew. Then my daughter said to me but Dad we are glad to have our Dad back. I told her this it was nothing I did it was God. I am glad they are forgiving and hope they forget the person I was I hope they learn from my mistakes and see without God you will find yourself in places you don’t need to be. James 3:17 says “but the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace, loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and grace fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy.” Do you have a tough time forgiving and forgetting? If so welcome to the club. Most of us find it difficult to forgive the people who have hurt us. And that’s too bad because life would be much simpler if we could forgive people “once and for all” and be done with it, but we sometimes can’t and it will cost you. Yet forgiveness is seldom that easy. Usually the decision to forgive is straightforward, but the process of forgiving is more difficult. Forgiveness is a journey that requires time, perseverance, and prayer. If you sincerely wish to forgive someone, pray for that person. And then pray for yourself by asking God to heal your heart. Don’t expect forgiveness to be easy or quick, but rest assured: with God as your partner you can forgive…and you will. What Kind of Example are you
Over the past year I have been in a place where I have not made the best choices in my life. I got caught up in Body Building. Bodybuilding was my life and I was doing everything I could do to succeed in this. I was at the gym at 4am and then again at 6pm. It was all about me and my desires. I also got caught in things that I should have not caught up in. These things only made me think about me and what’s I wanted. Yes I succeeded at this and change my body to compete and place in shows. People would say to me WOW you are so dedicated and I wish I could do that. What people didn’t see is who I was letting down. Not only was I letting down myself that I didn’t see but most important I was letting down my daughters. My daughters lost their dad I was not in a good place and it was all about me. I was not showing them the Godly example I taught them to be for so long. What they saw was a man who put God in the corner and was only focusing about himself. My daughter distanced themselves from me that I didn’t see because it was all about me. I was not the most loving dad I should have been. I was not showing them the Godly Father that God called me to be. When I put bodybuilding aside and stop the things I was doing it was then I found myself in such a dark place. I saw how I was acting and the decisions I made were not the best examples for my daughters. It was on a Saturday that I found myself in such a dark place I just wanted God to take me home and if he didn’t I would help him. It was a place that I never want to be again in my life. It was a place on God could bring me out of. I realized that my actions were not Godly examples and I was not going to live this life knowing I was not being the example to my kids that God called me to be. So I had to make a decision to let God bring me back to be the dad my daughters knew or continue to live in the black hole. So I found myself allowing God to bring me up from this dark place to be the example I needed to be. So what kind of example are you? This brings me to Titus 2:7 “in everything set them an example by doing what is good.” What kind of example are you? Are you the kind of man or woman whose life serves as a powerful example of decency and morality? Are you a man or woman whose behavior serves as a positive role model for others? Are you the kind of person whose fidelity, and love for the lord? If so, you are not only blessed by God, you are also a powerful force for good in the world that desperately needs positive influences such as yours. Phillips brooks advised, “ be such a man, and live such a life, that if every man were such as you, and every life a life like yours, this earth would be Gods paradise.” And that’s sound advice because our families and friends are watching…. And so, for that matter, is God. Don’t be like me and love for yourself and almost lose things that are so close to you. I look at my daughters a think, was I that the kind of man I want them to marry or is the man the God called me to be the one I want them to marry. I am not saying I a perfect by no means I have made a lot mistakes in my life but the questions is what did I learn from them and now how will God use them not only to teach my daughter but to teach others. My kids have seen the Godly Dad, or the Dad that that strives for worldly things, and now I want them to see the Godly dad I was. So what are you showing your kids because remember they will grow up watching you. Waiting
I remember one day getting home from work and we just finished our pool at our house. It was that time a year where it was warm outside but the water was still cold. I remember our daughter saying dad can I go swimming and me saying the water is to cold. I told her she needed to wait. She kept saying dad the water is warm and I will be fine and I kept saying wait. So her mother and I went outside with her, I said feel the water. She felt the water and said dad it’s not the cold. I said to her if you jump in it will take your breath away and you will not be able to swim. So she kept on about it. So I said ok if you won’t listen to me go ahead and jump in. I told her to jump in close to the side because I knew what was about to happen. Well she jumped in but jumped a little far out and came up for air but could not reach the side. Her little body froze up and went to the bottom. She I jumped in with phone clothes and all. I got to her and brought her to the side. Her mom grabbed her and wrapped her up with a towel. She looked at me and said dad you were right. I wanted to say I know but I didn’t. I looked at her and said this is why you need to listen to dad and learn to wait. This sounds like us as adults God says wait and we don’t and we jump in and then God has to come get us. I continue to learn this Dailey as I go through change in my life right now. This brings me to Lamentations 3:25-26 “The lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the lord.” We human beings are so impatient. We know what we want, and we know exactly when we want it: RIGHT NOW!! Sometimes this is what we think we want!! But, God knows better. He has created a world that unfolds according to his timetable, not ours. As Christians, we must be patient as we wait for God to show us the wonderful plans that he has in store for us. And while we’re waiting for God to make his plans clear, let’s keep praying and keep giving thanks to the one who has given us more blessing than we can count. We should keep the hope and continue to pray for what we want even though there might be some things that might look like it will never happen. We don’t know the future on God knows, but this is why we wait and pray. Don’t look at the things that are in place right now as an obstacle look at it as what is God teaching you about waiting. Last Forever
When I was about 9 years old I found this rock while I was walking in the woods. I have no idea why I picked up this rock but I did. I remember picking it up and placing it in my pocket. That morning I killed my first deer. Since then I have kept this rock and I still have this rock at my hunting camp in my room. I take it in the woods with me every time. No I don’t kill a deer every time but I take it with me. I was sitting in my stand one day a few years ago and looking at the rock and it has not changed at all. Then I thought about the age I picked up this rock and the age I was then. I think about how I have changed in thoughts and physical. God spoke to me that day and said you see this rock it has not changes at all. I am like this rock I never change. My love for you will never change I am never changing. I sit here tonight and think about that day. That was only 3 years ago and I look at how I have changed in just three years to the Bad and to the good. How so many things in my life has changed but God never changes. God loves will be with us during the low and the high. This brings me to Psalm 89:1 “Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever.” Upon what conditions do you give your love? Or is love a condition of good behavior? When someone we love does things or makes decisions that we disagree with, that’s not the time to use our love as a tool for manipulation. Unconditional love is pure and everlasting regardless of behavior. God’s love is like the rock it never changes. Is there anyone who doesn’t deserve your unconditional love? That’s exactly the person you should focus on loving. The instruction Manual
I remember many Christmas ago I was putting together this gift we bought the girls. I remember looking at the package and thinking oh this is not going to take long at all. So I dumped out all the parts and placed them in piles. I looked at the box and said I got this. I remember someone telling me should you read the instructions to this. I said no I got it. I looked at the box and said this it will not be hard at all. Oh yea I forgot this was at 10pm at night and Christmas was the next day. So I started to work on this thing I remember I started to get so frustrated because it was not doing what it was supposed to do. By this time it was about midnight and their mom was inside laying everything out and then she walked out and said are you not done yet and I turned and looked at her a said no. She said have you looked at the instructions I said no I got this and she said ok. Then she laid the instructions down next to me and I looked at them and said whatever. I kept going and getting more and more frustrated by this time it was about 2am. I remember getting up and saying this can’t be that hard what is going on and why can’t I do this. So about 3am I picked up the instructions and started reading them. So I followed the instructions and finished it in about an hour. So what took me about 5 hours to figure out myself and I didn’t even do that took me an hour after reading instructions. So brings me to Proverbs 13:13 “He who despises the word will be destroyed, but he who hears the commandment will be rewarded”. The Bible contains thorough instructions which, if followed, will lead to fulfillment, righteous and salvation. But if we choose to ignore Gods Commandments the results are as predictable and they are tragic. A righteous life has many components: Faith, honesty, Love, kindness, humility, gratitude, and worship, to the name Jesus Christ, we must seek to live according to his will. Let’s us follow his instructions, and let us conduct our lives in such a way that we might be shinning examples for those who have not yet found Christ. God gives us instructions to follow let us his instructions and not waste time trying to do it ourselves. There is a reason we have them. Wrong Direction
I remember one time I went to this hunting club with my buddy. He told me that morning how to get to the stand that I was go sit at that morning. The next morning I woke up and got dressed and off to the stands I went. I parked at the spot he told me to and then followed the tree line and then found the trail to the stand and then climbed up in the stand. As the sun started to come up over the trees in noticed this was a great place to sit. That morning I saw a lot of deer walking through the woods. As it got closer for me to get down I started to look around and thought there as to be a way faster to the road. I noticed that there was a trail behind me that looked like it would take me right up to the road that I was parked on. So I got down and off I went down this trail I had no idea where it would lead. I kept walking and walking I was thought the road has to be right up here. As I walked a little more I came to a fork in the trail and thought ok it has to be this direction. As I walked down this trail the road was nowhere. I have been walking for about 45 min. Then all of a sudden I head this guy whistle at me from a tree. I turned and looked up and it was another hunter. I then realized I was on someone else’s property he said man it’s a good thing you had an orange hat on I thought you were a deer. This is how a lot of people are shot in the woods. I told him where I was trying to go and he said you can’t get there from here. You will have to go back the way you came and go back out the other way. So off I went and about hour and half I made it back. By this time people at the camp were out looking for me also. What a crazy morning. This brings me to Psalm 119:59 “I thought about my ways and turned my steps back to your decrees.” I know that I have thought my ways are the best and I know a faster way to get somewhere but to only find out I was wrong. So I think about where I am at this point in my life and how I have had to turn around and make the long walk back to get back to where I was at. I had to come to a place where I was so lost that the only way was to turn from my ways and follow the correct trail that I was told to go down. God shows us and tells us what paths to take if we are listening and staying in tune with him. Just think of time that I would save if I would have just listened and went back the correct way. I will tell you from experience when you feel like following your ways stop and ask God if this is the direction you should go. I urge you not to do it your way, because I promise it’s a long walk back. The Storm
A few years ago we were getting to go fish the Pensacola International Billfish tournament. It was a very beautiful night and we were at the dock getting the boat ready and all the rods ready and loading the boat with food. I remember thinking this is going to be a great trip; the blue water was about 90 miles out. The weather report said seas 2 to3 foot you could not ask for better weather. We headed out and I was up top driving and everyone was down stairs eating and sitting on the back of the boat. The moon was out and it was a nice ride out. The next morning when I got to the spot we were going to start trolling the weed line the sun beaming off the water and the water was so blue. As the day went on I noticed some clouds off to the west. I looked at the radar and it really didn’t show anything so I really didn’t pay attention. Then about an hour later I noticed the clouds getting darker and darker. I saw that the storm was moving east so I took the boat south hoping that the storm would go north of us. Then I realized this was a big storm and we were about to go through this storm. The seas starting getting rough and then all of sudden we were in the storm. The seas were about 10 to 11 foot. The boat was all over the place. The food in the refrigerator fell out all over the floor people on the boat were getting sick. This was a very bad storm and there was nothing we could do. I remember there were some scared people on the boat and asking if we were going to get through this storm. I remember saying yes but it was bad. I was driving through rain that I didn’t think would ever end. I started to head north and get us out of this storm and head back. The next morning when we got back there was a lot of damage to the boat. It was a rough ride back. All I can remember was I was afraid as I was going through this storm and was wondering are we going to make it back. It like life we go through storms and some are worse than others and we wonder if we are going to make it. This brings me to Matthew 14:27 “Immediately Jesus spoke to them. Have courage! It is I don’t be afraid.” A storm rose quickly on the Sea of Galilee, and the disciples were afraid. Remember they have seen Jesus do many miracles, they feared for their lives, so they turned to the savior, and he calmed the waters and the wind. Sometimes, we, like the disciples, feel threatened by the inevitable storms of life. And when we are fearful, we, too, can turn to Christ for courage and comfort. So the next time we are afraid, remember that the One who calmed the wind and the waves is also your personal Savior. Remember that the ultimate battle has been won at Calvary. I have to remember this Dailey because I am going through a storm right now. I feel like I am going through rain and wind that will not stop. However I have to tell myself that God has control and I know that I will come out of this. So trust me when I say you’re not alone when going through storms, God is with us. I am learning this first hand as I write this. |
AuthorJust a man who follows Christ and writes for fun.. Archives
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