Capable?

Everyone at one point asks themselves this one question: Am I capable of doing this? It seems like a simple question, but the answer isn't. A person about to become a parent wants to know if they can actually raise another human being. A business owner wonders if they can keep it going. Sometimes the answer comes out no and there is failure. This isn't about failure though, that's for another time.
If you don't ask this question, then you don't take what your doing seriously or feel the brevity of the situation. Some people let the question itself stop them from moving forward. They feel their incapable and won't move forward.
In the Bible, every godly leader didn't feel capable at some point. One of them was Gideon. He felt that his status in life would keep him from being anything great. He saw himself as incapable. God saw things differently. Out of all of the people in the land, He chose the one who no one would have chosen and saw themselves as almost worthless. The question we all try to answer is why? My answer is God can only use a broken vessel. He will only use someone that He can fix and get the glory out of. If God had used the greatest in the land, then everyone would have thought it was that persons ability or status and they would have gotten the credit.
God told Gideon that together they would take out the enemy as one man. Through a series of events, God showed him that He meant what He said. Gideon became one of the greatest judges for Israel.
If you feel incapable, your in great company. If you feel that your not able to do things on your on, good, remember that. God told Paul, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." Paul's response, "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak , then am I strong." 2 Cor 12:9-10
If you think your capable of doing everything on your own, beware, failure is on it's way. 1 Cor 10:12

Deep

The last leg of the race, the final round, the 2 minute drill, the eleventh hour, the final push. This is what it all comes down to. This can make or break the outcome. If you watch a runner coming to the end of the race and the finish line is in sight, one of two things will happen. Either they will start kicking their legs higher and get a smoother, more aggressive stride or they won't and struggle to finish. There are some football teams that you don't want to be less than two touchdowns ahead of in the last few minutes of the game or they will come back and beat you. Finding that strength down deep to draw from is so important.
 I feel that this is where we the church is at today. I believe that we are in the final hours of this earth and real Christians will stand out more than ever. This is our chance to shine brighter than ever.
I remember a MASH show where a colonel or general had died of the flu or something simpler that a bullet or bomb. His man under him thought how wrong this was and decided to change the story. He found the place on the front where there was fighting and ordered a full out onslaught of bullets, bombs, and rockets. He packed his dead leader in a Jeep and sent him directly into the action to go out in a blaze of glory.
The church seems to have learned to live, build, and fight well. We have forgotten how to die well. What if, instead of dying in hospital beads, we decided to buy one way tickets to the places in need of God most and go out reaching as many unsaved as possible? Its time to dig deep to live and die like we mean what we believe.
Hebrews 12:1

Splinter

I remember one time when I was young, I was at my grandparents house and was playing outside with my cousins. Somehow I got a splinter. I went inside and my grandfather put me on his lap, pulled out his pocket knife and made me close my eyes. In seconds, (and almost painlessly) he had the splinter out. It was one of the best memories I have of my grandfather. He was tall, strong, had rough hands, but could be very gentle.
What is a splinter? It's what happens when something starts coming apart. It's usually small amounts and it's not considered good.
I've thought a lot lately how the church in America has been splintering. The true "American" is considered individualistic and independent. We pride ourselves in free thinking as well as pioneering. We want to be first, top of the heap, and world leaders. The church has taken on this exact replica. How little do we think of unification of our faith? How little we think of joining together with others that believe in the same God and focus on reaching people together? We have become splintered.
In Hebrews 10:24-25 it talks about we need to sharpen and build each other up. It says that we need to meet together more and more as the end draws near. Are you meeting up with Christians more or less lately? I feel if we don't meet up more, we will splinter even more. This is the goal of the enemy. The more divided we become, the more we splinter and hurt the Kingdom of God.

Wait

A scripture that I see on a lot of refrigerators and hung on walls is Isaiah 40:31. It's a great scripture on what waiting on God does for us. The problem is I don't like waiting. I'm impatient. A lot of people are like me. I can think of how popular the microwave has become and don't know how most people would live without one. Let's face it, our world is in a hurry.
One thing I've learned is that God is not in a hurry. 2Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." What I get from this is that God moves in His own time and He moves at His own pace.
The big problem is, I don't think we really know what waiting is. Most people can't stand being put on hold. Sitting and listening to music while waiting on someone to pick up the phone will drive you crazy. I recently was put on hold, but I found relief.  I put the phone on speaker and went about doing my work. After a while, the person picked up the other end and I was able to do the business that I was waiting on.
Do you feel like you've been put on hold by God? I think we should take the time that we are waiting and do some work. Focus on something that is in front of us and do it. Still keep what your waiting on God before you, but be willing to keep busy. God will work things out in the meantime and help you, but in His time, not yours. James 1:3-6 says that the trying of our faith works patience. If you feel like your faith is getting tried, (as a friend of mine would say) "hold steady". God is working on you and will give you the patience to see it through.

Weight

There was a popular thing growing up that people use to wear to help them gain more muscle and work out while they are doing their basic work. They are called ankle weights. I wanted some of these until I tried them on. They didn't feel good and made me want to sit down more than move around.
I feel we all can walk around like we have ankle weights on. The daily grind gets to us or even huge problems start weighing us down, making us feel like stopping. It can be a struggle to move around to do anything. Sure, I smile on the outside and my character is to optimistic, but inside there can be a struggle. Maybe it can be just certain people that I have to be around or a particular task that I have to do, but really it keeps me from moving forward.
Today, there was a change in my thoughts. Cast off the weight. It comes from Hebrews 12:1, where it says, "let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,". It is on my heart to cast off the things that hinder. Cast off the burden that would hold me back. Some people say they are trying to shake something. This casting off is more than just a shake. It is pulling it off and throwing it. 1Peter 5:7 says also to cast all of your cares on Christ.
You might ask what this looks like. I had that same question. Then there was a word in my prayer time that came to my heart in reference to this. Speak it! If there is one thing that God used throughout the Bible from creation to the very end is speaking. He spoke things into existence and in the end He will defeat our enemies with His words. In Romans 4:17 it says, "..He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were." He also calls us to carry out things in the same way. In Matthew 21 and Mark 11 He tells us to speak to the mountain and it will be moved.
So today, I ask you to speak to your weight, your mountain, your struggle and cast it off. Throw it away. If you find it back on again, throw it again. Keep throwing it so that you can run.

Distractions

As we plan and proceed through our plans and daily life one of the most frustrating thing that can happen is distractions. They are annoying and can be a real inconvenience. People seem to forget that I have plans and responsibilities. The last thing I need is for someone to get in my way. Like when I have somewhere to go and an acquaintance stops me and has to tell me their life story. Or someone's bad day makes my day get worse.
Then I'm reading in Mark 5 when a ruler (Jairus) wanted Jesus to come heal his daughter. As Jesus was going with him, low and behold there was an interruption. Another women that needed a healing came up and grabbed Jesus' clothes to get healed. Jesus stopped and recognized her and how she got healed. You can imagine how Jairus was standing there saying; blah, blah, blah, yeah she got healed, now lets go take care of my daughter. Then the bad news got worse. The daughter was reported dead. So he stood there, I'm sure with his face buried in his hands while Jesus looked on. Jesus' was distracted and it caused his daughter her life.
If you think about it, when was Jesus not distracted? Jesus was going from one problem and concern after another. Did Jesus have a plan? Yes and it seems to me that He didn't have any problem getting distracted. He would go off by Himself to pray and people would follow and interrupt. There was only one time when He wouldn't be taken off course. It was when He was going up to Jerusalem to die. Even then, there were some distractions that slowed Him down.
What can we learn from this? Make plans, but let God bring distractions. Some of my best days are when I let God use an inconvenience to make a difference in someone's life. The unplanned miracles are when God really gets the glory.

Plans

I don't know about you, but I haven't been real good at making plans and even if I do make them, I'm not real good at following them. I was asked one time what my five year looks like? I had to admit, that I didn't have a five year. It was then that I started a few years ago making plans for each year with goals and ideas. I found out that I got more accomplished by doing so. I know some people live from day to day with no plans or very little idea of where they are going. Other people plan their life in detail. Which is better? 
As I ponder this question, I think of my friend who builds houses for a living. He knows how to build houses because his boss and others have shown him how to. They have all studied and learned from others how to as well. If my friend decided to build his houses the way he wanted to and not listen or learn from others, then the house probably wouldn't last for very long.
One of my favorite verses is Jeremiah 29:11. It says that God has plans for us. Good plans. Plans for success. I believe God 's plans are going to be better than my plans. I believe God knows what success is better than I do. Psalm 33:11 talks about God's plans standing forever,
Proverbs 29:18 says that without vision the people parish (KJV).  Proverbs 15:22 and 20:18 says that we need to be making plans with lots of advice.
So what can we learn from these scriptures and ideas? We need to make plans to live by. We need to seek Godly advice. We need to make sure our plans and advice line up with God's plans for us. I believe failure to do these things will keep us from fulfilling what God created us for.
So what are you doing today? How about for the next 6 months or even next year? What's your five year look like? Life is hard. Plan accordingly.