A Puff of Smoke

James 4:
v. 13: Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit."
v. 14: You don't even know what tomorrow will bring -- what your life will be! For you are a bit of smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes.

If we really saw our lives as a bit of smoke that appears then vanishes quickly, how much importance would we place on it? How might it change our focus?

We don't know what tomorrow will bring. I heard a friend say yesterday, "Life can change in a second." Sometimes we think we have it all figured out then something unexpected happens and all our plans dramatically change. The people in Japan didn't know a 9.0 earthquake was going to hit, followed by a horrendous tsunami; I didn't know one beautiful autumn morning that I was going to break my kneecap causing me to put my life on hold and take a leave of absence from seminary; Aron Ralston didn't know a boulder was going to fall on his arm while rock climbing, trapping him for 127 hours only to be freed by him amputating his own arm.

We make our plans and hope they come to pass then God shows us He has other plans. This is not to say God causes bad things to happen to us but I do believe He allows them into our lives because He is going to use them to His glory. But James explains that we shouldn't stop planning but be willing to submit to God's will...

v. 15: Instead you should say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."

What can man do to me??

Hebrews 13
v. 3: Your life should be free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for He Himself has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." [Deuteronomy 31:6]
v. 4: Therefore, we may boldly say:

The Lord is my helper;

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

Psalm 118:6

I love these verses. In the process of talking about being free from the love of money and being satisfied with what we have, Paul reminds us that God has said He will never leave us or foresake us. When he says, "...be satisfied with what you have..." he adds to the same sentence,  "...for He Himself..." What we have is God. When we have Him we have all we need, and Paul knew that. We are satisfied. Nothing in this world can compare to God and nothing in this world can fill our emptiness and needs like He can.

Paul goes on to quote Psalm 118:6..."What can man do to me?" Paul knew that if the Lord is with us, we have nothing to fear. In the perspective of this truth, he knw that the only things man can do to us are steal our earthly possessions, slander our name, take a loved one out of our life, inflict bodily harm or even physical death. But man can never destroy our souls or snatch us from the hand of God.

I know this sounds harsh but form the perspective of the Kingdom of Almighty God, everything we set our eyes on here on this earth is temporary...even our bodies...TEMPORARY. But eternity, that's where we want our focus. Paul had his focus there and anything man could do to him here really wasn't a threat. He was so in love with God.

"Don't fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."     -Jesus [Matthew 10:28]



No Longer Infants

Hebrews 4:
v. 12: For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of God's revelation. You need milk not solid food.
v. 13: Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant.
v. 14: But solid food is for the mature - for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil


Chelsi Newborn


When my daughter Chelsi was an infant, she had  such a hard time taking formula. After just one ounce, BLAH!! Up it would come. This went on for quite awhile. We'd have to burp her every ounce and every time up it would come. I'm sure she was keeping some of it because she was satisfied and was growing. After awhile, formula wasn't enough. We slowly introduced solid food, starting with a tablespoon of runny, flavorless rice cereal.

6 months old

After awhile, we introduced veggie baby food. What a thrill to see her face light up with the taste of carrots, peas and sweet potatoes. "Mmmm!!" she'd hum as she ate each spoonful. Then it was time for the sweet tastes of applesauce and banana baby food. Eventually, we went from strained meat to pasta to solid foods.

It was a long process but today she is eating solid foods...some of which I'd never eat. 

What would have happened if I had not taken the time and effort to introduce new foods and just left her at the formula or runny, flavorless rice cereal stages?? Truthfully, she would have never developed and Child Protective Services would have taken her away from me. Why?? Because she would have died.

Our growth and development in our walk with God is no different. If after we accept Christ, we simply warm a pew every Sunday morning, we will never develop...or worse yet, we will die in our walk with God. We need to feed on God's word every day. We need to get to the point where it is not always spoon fed to us, but we hold the utensil and feed ourselves. We need to seek more and more intimacy with God so that we know His voice when He speaks to us. We need to be able to stand our ground when Satan launches an attack, by skillfully wielding the sword of the Spirit (the word of God) and having a listening ear to our Commander.

Don't remain an infant in your walk with God. There is so much flavor in a life devoted to Him.

PS Sorry Chels, I had to make a point.

Think About It...

Hebrews 2
v. 14: Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, He also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death--that is the Devil--
v. 15: and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.

v. 17: Therefore, He had to be like His brothers in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
v. 18: For since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are tested.

Wow!! Did you ever think about this?? Jesus came down from His throne where He was worshipped, honored, glorified...and took on humanness. For a time, He was even lower than the angels. He became one of us, only He was God. He did it to free us from the Devil and his power of death.

What's interesting about this passage is that He was "...in service to God..." Not in service to us, but God. This emphasizes the fact that God wants us...God wants us in relationship with Him as His children for all eternity. He truly loves us!!! We are the apple of His eye; the object of His affection; His precious treasure...You are the one He longs for!!

If you're going through a trial in your life, Jesus can help...He's been there.

Oh How He Loves Us!!