One of the challenges we have, at times as Christians, is understanding what God wants us to do with our lives. Sometimes it seems so clear, and other times, not so much.

Jesus says to the disciples in Matthew 10:39 (NIV version), “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” The Message translation gives an interesting variation, “If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.”

I found the Message translation to be a very helpful way to interpret this verse and to determine what God wants us to do. If we focus on demonstrating our love for God by following His direction, spelled out in the Bible, loving others, and sharing the Christian message of hope, other parts of our life will come along.

It is a bit like tuning an instrument, like a guitar. On a guitar, you can get one string in tune, then play the same note on that string and another string in order to tune the second string. If the notes are very close, but not exactly in tune, there is what is called “dissonance” between the sounds. The dissonance can be heard as an uncomfortable tremolo or “beating” sound; As one of the strings is tuned closer and closer to the other’s pitch, the beating gets slower and slower and eventually goes away, resulting in one nice sound, in unison.

As the verse in Matthew says, when we adjust ourselves to God’s standard, the dissonance goes away and we are in unison with God’s will.

Dear Lord, You have a plan for each of us. Help us remember to tune our plans to your will and we will accomplish both. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

I remember when I was young and had the opportunity to go to the go-cart track, It would be fun, but I wished the go carts could go faster. They all had what are called governors on the engines, that limited the engine speed. Now days, with the development of electronic engine controls, modern cars have computerized limiters on their maximum speeds because of the limited capabilities of the tires. Without the limiters, most cars could go much faster.

In a similar way, Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.” TLB

When it comes to God’s power in our lives, we are like the governor, or speed limiter on a car. We are the limiter of what God can do through us. The Gods Word translation says He is capable of doing “infinitely more than what we can ask or imagine.”

Let’s take the limits off of our belief in God’ power, and believe for much more.

Dear Lord, You created all things, from the sophistication of the atom and smallest cell, to the unfathomable majesty and vastness of the universe. Help us remember that your same power lives in us, to do great things that glorify you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Mark 9 includes the story of Jesus healing a boy who was possessed by a demon who would throw him into convulsions.

Mark 9 :21-22 says, “Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

The man said “if you can” to Jesus. The man must have heard the stories of Jesus healing other people, and was looking desperately to find a way to help his son. Even though he probably had heard stories of Jesus healing people, he was not sure Jesus could, or would, heal his son.

Don’t we sometimes fall into this place of doubt, not sure God can solve the difficult problem we have.

In those times, think about these words. “Don’t say “can God,” say “God can.”

Dear Lord, We know that with you, all things are possible. Help us remember to pray and ask with confidence, and remember “God can.”
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Often times people use the words knowledge, understanding and wisdom interchangeably, as if they mean the same thing.

Actually there are significant distinctions between these words, particularly with reference to the Bible.

We can look at knowledge as the facts or data, understanding as, what the facts mean, and wisdom as, what do I do about it.

Applying this to our Bible and faith, we read a verse and know what the words say, that is knowledge. We consider the words and cross reference with other bible verses and stories to understand what the words are trying to tell us. However, the very important piece is what do we do after we understand what the words mean, that is wisdom.

James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

So let us always take time after reading our bible, and ask for God’s wisdom on how to apply it in our lives.

Dear Lord, we know that You are the source of wisdom. Give us this wisdom as you promise so that we will know with confidence how to proceed in our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

If you have savings invested in stocks or mutual funds, you have probably noticed that the stockmarkets in the US and most of the world are down over 10% in the first couple weeks of 2016. It is very difficult to look at the balances in our accounts and see that amounts we were “counting on” have disappeared. I read that over two trillion dollars of “wealth” was wiped out in these last two weeks. As difficult as it feels when these type of things occur, it gives us the opportunity to stop and remember where our hope should be.

David wrote in Psalm 30:6, “When I was prosperous, I said, “Nothing can stop me now!” Your favor O Lord, made me as secure as a mountain. Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered.”

It is not our large accounts, great jobs, or investment skills that bring us security, it is God’s favor on us. He can take the poor and make them rich, and take the rich and make them poor. We need to keep our focus on God and his will and he will be our source of peace and security.

Dear Lord, Your favor and mercy is what we need for our peace, security and all our needs. Help us remember to look for and do what you would want us to do, and rely on you to provide for us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.