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I will not forget…

March 29, 2011 by Joey Hughes 2 Comments

I’ve heard this phrase said many times and in reference to many different situations. I’ve heard people use it in reference to the remembrance of soldiers who were lost in war, or in reference to some major catastrophe, or in reference to a loved one who has been lost.

The Psalmist, David used it when he came upon a time in his life when he faced one of his greatest foes; Goliath, the Philistine. 1 Samuel 17:34-37 tells of the conversation between David and His King; Saul:

31 Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him. 32 Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”

34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lambfrom its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”

I wonder if David said to himself, on the day that lion came to kill one of his father’s sheep; “You know, I need to remember this day, because one day, I’m probably going to have to use my experience here to help me kill a big ol’ giant!” I wonder if, when that bear came into the sheep fold, he said; “I’m going to take note on this but-kickin’ that is about to take place so I’ll know how to bring down a giant!” Of course he didn’t! We know better.

So what is the lesson here?

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the mundane, normalcy of every day life that we forget that God is with us in every situation we find ourselves in. David recognized this in his life. He understood the principle of Proverbs 3:5-6  “ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

When we take time each day to acknowledge the Lord’s leadership in our lives, we begin to understand that there is no frame of the movie of our lives where he cannot be found. This brings us to the realization Paul had when he wrote Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” It also gives us the confidence that David had when he saw Goliath taunting the army of God.

Then we can say with all the backing of heaven: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”

My prayer for you today is that you will look into the eyes of whatever giant you face at this moment and say “I remember when my God did ________________ in my life, and you will be no different, because I can do all things through His strength!”

Be Blessed today!!

Filed Under: Christianity 101, Leadership 101 Tagged With: Better Life, character, christianity, David and Goliath, encouragement, Hope, Leadership

I made this for you. Please enjoy…

February 16, 2011 by Joey Hughes Leave a Comment

My wife and I love to watch the show “Top Chef” every chance we get.

I love to watch the cooks prepare their dishes and present them to the judges. They labor and toil. Sometimes things turn out right. Sometimes they don’t turn out so good. Sometimes the flavors are “spot-on” and sometimes they leave a little to be desired. But they always say this phrase after they give the description of their dish…

“Please, enjoy.”

I had a conversation with a friend today and she was, to say the least, a little frazzled and frustrated. She has not had the best of weeks so far. I tried to encourage her by saying “Hey, just take a deep breath and try to enjoy your day.” (Those of you who know me know that is one of my favorite phrases.)

I thought as walked away from our conversation “God must be a lot like one of those  Top Chef contestants.” He creates beauty all around us. He puts the events of our lives together as a chef would a wonderfully, flavorful, five course meal. He knows that some of what we face will not be pleasant. He knows that some of the events of our lives will taste of pain, suffering, betrayal, loneliness and disappointment. He knows that there will be times of great joy and times of great sadness. Yet, He says to us “This is what I have created especially for you. Please, enjoy.”

Jesus said it well in John 16, verse 33: “These things I have spoken to you that, in me, you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take  heart, I have overcome the world.”

And even Paul knew what it meant to  have peace in times of struggle. He said in Romans 8, verse 28 “For we know that all things work together for good to those who love Him and are the called according to his purpose.”

Are you enjoying what God has prepared for you today?

Be blessed!

Filed Under: Christianity 101 Tagged With: Better Life, christianity, encouragement, Hope, Top Chef

Where was Jesus???

January 13, 2011 by Joey Hughes Leave a Comment

I was looking around on Facebook the other day and came across a post from an old friend that raised some very hard questions for me. I’ve been thinking about the things he said ever since I read it.

He was writing in reference to the tragic shooting that took place in Tuscon, Arizona last week and the nine year old girl who was killed there.

Here is what he said in his post…

“i wonder where jesus was this weekend when that poor little 9 year old girl was shot and killed at random…… I wonder how the christians explain that one…… oh i bet they say” evil is in the world and god has a plan for everybody and that was her time”…. i say that’s a sad fu–ing excuse… it’s because psycho’s like that asshole get their hands on guns…

My outrage is just that when something like this happens,, christians say ” gods will”… and it amazes me because others will post ” jesus answered our prayers.. sam’s ingrown toenail is healed”… but jesus didn’t stop that asshole from killing those poor people…”

Wow!

He raises some very strong questions that I think are a indictment against us as believers.

I believe that if we are to be true ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven, we are going to have to address and deal with the perceptions that these questions are symptoms of.

How do we answer the question of  “Where is Jesus when bad stuff happens?” How do we change the perception of the world that the Church of the Most High God has been reduced to a faceless, voiceless, powerless group of people who meet on Sunday to get their “shout” on and only have enough knowledge and revelation of the character and heart of God to say things like:

“This world is not heaven and sin is bad. That little girl is in heaven where no more sin exist.”

or

“I think Jesus was sitting beside that little 9 year old girl.”

 

When will we realize that this world will never believe what we have not experienced? If we have not experienced and are not experiencing the power of Almighty God in our lives, in our homes, and on our jobs, how can we ever present Him to a world who needs to see real power more than anything else?

You can dismiss my friend’s comments as “just the rantings of a raging liberal,” or you can take time to look a little deeper into the fact that we are not accurately representing the God of Heaven on this earth. We are not “going into all nations and preaching the Gospel and making disciples.” Instead, we are trying to take something that someone told us (but we’ve never experienced) and make it real to a world that is crying out for something real. It’s like we’re in a boat and the whole world is drowning around us and the only thing we keep throwing them is a spaghetti noodle to hold on to. All it does it fall apart when it hits the churning water of their storm. Can we please throw them a real rope???

“Father, help me today to be your witness to a dying world. Help me to show them the real you. Help me to live the life of someone who knows you and knows your power in his life. Help me to be an ambassador of your Kingdom here in this land where they don’t know or understand you or your ways. “

Your thoughts??

Filed Under: Christianity 101, Discussions Tagged With: arizona shooting, Better Life, character, Christian, christianity, Hope

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