TWC 5.20.08

Hello everyone,

 

I know I have hit on this topic before but I feel compelled to write on it again.  How do we deal with stress? We find many ways to let off steam after a hard days work, a long week, a fight with a loved one or co-worker. In my life I have tried many things to help me “feel better” and even today I try certain things that seem to work for the moment but the situation or the stress doesn’t seem to go away for too long. I think most of you will agree with that.

 

Let’s stop and think about some of the good and bad things that we do to try and reduce stress in our lives. Some of the good things to do to help are working out, sleeping, and having a nice dinner, going on a vacation, or spending time with friends and family. Some of the bad things people do in order to relieve stress are partying, drug usage, casual sex, and many other things.

 

I want to use this verse to try and make my point today.

 

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)

                Jesus told us, who are weary and carry heavy burdens, to come to him. He was talking to each and everyone of us. To those of us who maybe lost and also to those of us who may think we are found. Jesus knew that without him we could not live stress free lives. How will He teach us you ask? The first way he can teach us is for us to read the bible daily. This is the best way to find the answers to the questions we have in life. The second way he will teach us is in prayer. We need to pray and to talk to him often. He then said that He is humble and gentle, which means that he will take His time to show us what we have to do. He will teach us. Jesus told us that he will, but we as a people need to be willing to learn. This passage ends with Him saying that the burdens we bear will be light. Meaning that He will never give us what we can not handle. Jesus is the light, the direction, and the ever present shinning from above of which we all need in order to be at peace with ourselves and with His father.

Again thank you all for reading this today, I hope to talk to each of you soon.

TWC 5.11.08

Hello everyone,

 

 I hope that you are all at peace with God, yourselves and the world. After church today I was at home starting a new study on “Hearing God’s Call”. We all know God has very different and amazing ways of talking to each of us. As I finished my study I am sure that He spoke to me and laid a message on my heart that was different than anything I was studying.

 

I want to first have you all read a few verses from the Psalm’s:

 

Psalm 46:1

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

 

Psalm 46:11

The Lord of host is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Se’lah.

 

Psalm 9:9-10

The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know they name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

 

            I could continue on for hours but I feel that you all get the point. The key words I am talking about here are refuge and trouble. I know many of us have some form of trouble in our lives right now. We may not want to admit it to our friends, family, or even ourselves but God knows what is in our hearts and minds. And He wants nothing more for you to call on Him for His help. What do we seek refuge in? Do we get so angry that we forget that our refuge can and should be with God? Do we bottle it up? Do we keep our troubles so deep inside that they continue to eat at us and make our situation worse? Or do we rather remain focused and lay our troubles at God’s feet and place our worries in His loving hands?

 

            I don’t know what you do and I wouldn’t expect any of you to tell me what you do. But I will tell you that I have tried many things. I have tried the keeping it all inside and I have tried to deal with them myself. I have tried getting so angry that I could not even begin to see straight. I will also be completely honest in telling you that none of that has ever worked. Maybe, at most, a temporary patch on what would and many times did turn into bigger troubles. If you have ever read the book of Ecclesiastes, you will see that Solomon tried many things to find refuge in. He had knowledge, wealth, many worldly possessions and yet still could not seek the refuge he needed to find. I am no Solomon, but I have also tried to find the refuge I needed in many other areas. Be it in work, play, or drink. I could not find it. I have been bles sed with many very good friends, two of which that I will give credit to. I have said these two peoples name’s before and I will say them again here. If it were not for Melanie taking me to the church that night , and if it were not for Nicole looking at me when the 2^nd and the 3^rd altar call was given, I would more than likely still be lost. I will pray that God will bless them daily for what they have helped me to find. Nothing else I have ever tried has ever worked. I will profess that as loud as I can. Hear me clearly when I tell you all that I was beyond lost. I still have a very long way to go, but with the refuge that I have found in God, my path and the answers that I seek are becoming more and more clear ever day.

 

            This message may be something you need to hear or you know someone that needs to hear it. If you hear God talking to you, I ask you to please take His hand or offer yours to someone else. After that, if you let Him, God will show you the way. He is constantly trying to talk to us and wants a relationship with us. We are his children.

 

Isaiah 12:2

Behold. God is my salvation, I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song, he also become my salvation.

 

 

Thank you all for taking the time to read and pass on the words that God has given me. I hope and pray that during times of trouble, that this world so often seems to have, each of us will continue to find our refuge in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

Will