Impact

The word Impact can evoke many emotions…especially in a week where such a prominent person loses their life in a tragic accident.

As a verb, Impact defined is to have a strong effect on someone or something. Kobe Bryant had this on an entire generation of Basketball fans…and it was evident when mews of his death, along with his daughter and 7 others, broke on Sunday.  But this is not about him.

His impact was lasting.

It can be seen all over social media.

It can be heard in gyms across the nation, even across the world.

But, as I said…this is not about him.

I was disheartened about a number of the social media posts that I saw; anything from posts declaring the impact that the Black Mamba had on lives, to supporting his family and friends, to posts that were trashing him and the situation, to even posts that were trying to remind others that there were others on the helicopter….so why was I disheartened?

How could such a tragedy spark such divisiveness? Why must everything be so polarizing?

My mind quickly jumped to the impact that Christ could make if we would say the things that people say about celebrities about our Lord and Savior.  We become wrapped up in the social culture of this world…allowing celebrities to become icons in our eyes…even heroes, but their death cannot provide salvation…only the death of Christ provided us the salvation we so desperately need.

Again…not downplaying Kobe, or any other celebrity in this…

I’m saying that if we viewed our Savior as the Icon or Hero as we do these celebrities think of the impact that Christ could make in our lives.  If we shared His impact in our lives on social media and in daily conversations the way that we share their stories, just think of the lives that could be changed because of His story in our lives.

Talk about the impact others make on your life…but I challenge you…talk about Christ’s impact as well.  Tell others the Story of Jesus in your life…you never know the lives you might Impact with His story.

“To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” – Colossians 1:27 (NKJV)

What are we Doing?

“The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble. Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished. By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil. When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” – Proverbs 16:1-9, ESV

This scripture speaks volumes to us, especially in today’s time, and this week I want to issue a challenge to each of you who reads this. There are many things that we do that can keep us from experiencing the blessings of God in our lives, and the unfortunate part of this is that many times we do not see it because we are so sure we are in the right.

I can think of a number of things going on in our society today that speak to this, and honestly, I know there will be some of you who disagree with me on this, but I invite you to please look at this with me and study it yourself. I feel that there are groups today at work in our world who think that there is nothing wrong with what they do, and in looking at scripture we can see why. Proverbs 16:2 tells us that in our own eyes we are fully doing what is right, but God weighs the spirit. In our mind’s eye we are doing what we feel is right, but does the Bible not also tell us to be careful what we show approval for?

There are many issues that we have around us in society today that we need to filter through the Bible to make sure we are not approving something that is wrong in the eyes of God. The unfortunate thing that I see around us today is that we are all guilty of this in some way or another, but we lose sight because our own ways are right in our own eyes, while we spend time trying to correct someone else’s problems because we feel they need correction.

Here is our issue, whatever it may be, we tend to criticize others of the way they are living while we ourselves have things that are hampering our walk. According to what we see in this section from Proverbs 16, all of our steps should be directed by God, not just his or her steps while mine are surely rooted in God. He did not ask us to condemn one another, but to love and respect everyone. Truthfully, according to what we see in verse 3 is that our commitment to the Lord and His ways will establish our plans and actions today. This means that if we focus on His ways, He will direct our steps; if we commit to His ways, our hearts are transformed to His purpose.

This covers all manners of sin…we cannot be on the fence about what God’s purpose and will are in our lives. Whether it be lies, lust, or any other sin that we come across in the world today, it is not our job to allow and show approval for things that God has spoken of in His word. His word gives us clear definitions of what is right and wrong, and the biggest problem that man has today in the world is that we all want to justify our own actions by ignoring what God says, but that can be dangerous. Again, God is clear about His intentions for us in His word. Don’t let your fence riding cause you to miss out on God’s blessing.

“Because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” – Revelation 3:16

Living in the Moment

As we begin a New Year…let’s face it…each of us deal with anxiety on some level, likely on a daily basis. I want to address this in a way that I think we can all learn from it.  God has plans for us that we get in the way of in many cases…

Jeremiah 33:1-3 says, “Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying, “Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name): ‘Call unto Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’”

We all go through difficult times, Jeremiah was in bondage as he experienced this in his life, yet he realized that God was in control…we face it daily, yet we forget to turn it over.  There are two things we can’t let dictate our lives…the ghosts of our past, and the fears of our future.

Many folks begin to get a brochure from the IRS that gives you an estimate of what you will have when you reach 67 or 70.  Maybe it has sparked worries of not having enough by the time you reach retirement…sometimes the Lord will check you and say, “Are you going to live 30 years in the future and worry, or will you trust Me to take care of you right now?”

The enemy hates for a believer to live in the moment with Jesus Christ; but that is what we must do!  Our past should no longer matter, it has happened and we can’t go back and change it…we have to let go of the situations we have faced and move forward. Our future is a story that has yet to be told, and we can learn from our past and make sure we do not repeat the same mistakes, but letting ourselves get into the mindset that we have ruined ourselves is something that only destroys us for the present…which is the moment we are in.

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God.” WOW! How wonderful is it that our sin has been paid in full, taken care of in one act of love that destroyed the bond that sin could have over us…essentially taking care of our past…as well as our future.

Jeremiah got it a few verses earlier as well, in Jeremiah 32:17 he stated, “Ah, Lord God, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you!”

Our past covered by the blood of Christ, our future is in the hands of a God who can do the impossible…so why would we do anything but live in the moment with Him? Why would we worry about the things we cannot change? Why be fearful of the things that God is already working on that we haven’t even seen?

Renew your focus today! I challenge you to release your past, stop worrying and trying to change something you can’t.  Forget about the future and the fears that you have, God is in control and has it already taken care of.  Resolve today to live in the moment, THIS MOMENT, that you have with God.

 

 

 

What’s Your Story?

What a difference a year or two can make in a life.

There are many chapters in our story that can be written over a year’s time. Many things can happen in our lives that can change our plans for the future, things that can redirect our path and send us in a new direction, and many things that can make us stop and reevaluate our purpose. For some, their story may have ended.

What we have to do is realize that our life is a story that is being written day-by-day. The question, who is the author?

There are many of us who call ourselves Christians that are attempting to write our own story while we push aside values and morals to attempt to accomplish our own tasks and plans. As Christians, we should step back and allow our story to be penned by another, by the one who gave us life and has a plan for us that will prosper us and give us a hope and a future. Our plans will only lead us to failure if we do not align then to the plans of God.

As I look back over the past few years in my life, I see that my plans were put on hold, or at least the plans I assumed were made for me as things seemed to turn upside-down. It was almost eight years ago that a story ended and a new chapter began in my story, or at least what I thought was my story.

When dad passed it was a crushing blow to the story of my life, but dad had reached his final chapter. His, a story of love, a story that was written by God as dad made it his purpose to serve the Lord with his life; it was a story that we can all look at and know the same reward.

The story I am speaking of is the one we see in scripture. The story of Christ, the cross, and salvation. A story that has a hero, Christ, who fights his nemesis, the Devil, and struggles through many battles to overcome death and the grave on his way to saving the world.

This can be our story if we just realize that God has written the same story for us all.

Open the Word and read your story today. It is an all-time best seller, a love story, an action packed thriller, and a story of redemption.

What is your story? Do you know your story? Do you know how it will end? You can, if you will put your trust in the Lord and in His Word.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16, 17 NKJV)