Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Don't Stand Alone

1 Peter 5:6-11 (New Living Translation)

6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. 10 In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. 11 All power to him forever! Amen.

All of us struggle with something. But we're meant to help each other. So find someone you can talk to about it.


- g-ram

Monday, June 28, 2010

Pursuit of the Dream

Stop waiting for what you want and work with what you have got. The dream in your heart always starts with something in your hand.

What's in your hand?
What does the dream in your heart look like?
What should you be doing right now?


- g-ram

Monday, June 21, 2010

How Not To Stop A Charging Bull



Adversity comes.
Oh, look! Here comes some now!
Don't be surprised when you see it coming.
Don't be discouraged when you sense its approach.

“Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you're a good person is like expecting a bull not to charge because you're vegetarian”
Jewish adage

The arrival of challenge, adversity, lousiness, opportunity all allow you to be able to share the hope that is within you.

15But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

1 Peter 3:15

If no adversity ever crosses your path, how will you live out your calling?

Face it.

Be ready for it.

... Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes

... so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then,

Ephesians 6:10-18

Don't give up.

g-ram




Sunday, June 20, 2010

Chosen

Do you feel like there's no way God would want you? Here's what Jesus had to say about that.

John 3:14-17 (New Living Translation)

14 "And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him."

When it comes to eternal life, your past isn't the issue. Will you choose Jesus?


- g-ram

Saturday, June 19, 2010

The Hinge

Authentic prayer hinges on a single conviction:

God is able.

And He is...

Live like you believe. Faith in action; the impossible made possible.

- g-ram

Friday, June 18, 2010

Provision

Money's great to have, but it's important to remember where it came from.

Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (New Living Translation)

17 "He did all this so you would never say to yourself, 'I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.' 18 Remember the LORD your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath."

God will always provide what you need to accomplish what He's set before you.

Remember, you don't need money in the same way that you need God's provision.

- g-ram

Thursday, June 17, 2010

How Big Is Your World?


It is funny to me how the more I focus on myself, the less I see.
The more it's about me, the less I will be.

To open up and share with others vastly enlarges my understanding and my experiences. Who wants a small life?

Give more.
Share more.
See more.
Be more.
Love more.
Serve more.

"The world of the generous gets larger & larger;
the world of the stingy gets smaller & smaller."

Proverbs 11:24
(The Message)

I am better when I am not just thinking about me.
Open my eyes that I might see even a glimpse of what I might be if I could just focus on you first Jesus.

He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
John 3:30
(New Living Translation)


g-ram

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Unleash Your Superpowers




It's difficult to determine the impact words can make on an individual's life. Some words--good or bad--remain lodged within for an entire life. My guess is that words have both wounded and brought healing to you and you're well aware of the power of the spoken word. Here are some ideas to add more muscle to your conversations:

Choose care over criticism. It's easy to critique and complain—criticism doesn't require much intelligence. It's much more difficult to think about how to verbally care for others. When you care, you soften hearts and open up eyes (and, you'll become better at it too).
Go deeper than the surface. If we're being technical, it is encouraging to say something like,
.....| "You don't seem to sweat much for a husky guy."
.....| "You seem smart for a drop out."
.....| "It's really amazing how your pasty white skin shines in the sun."


Don't settle for a superficial word of encouragement when you can dig a little deeper and add meaning to your words. If you need to start by commenting on how someone is dressed… okay, start there but don't stay at the superficial. Keep looking past the surface and you'll move from their clothing to their character—that type of encouragement is memorable and transformational.


A quick aside: Encouragement shouldn't become a substitute for a confrontation that may need to happen. There will be times when you the best thing you can say to a friend may actually sting the recipient. But, when you have a solid relationship that's bathed in encouragement, confrontations are easier and more effective.


Our world is starving for encouragement, what are they hearing from you?

g-ram

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

What Lurks Beneath...

Right now is the time for you to change the way you live. Here's Paul in Colossians.

Colossians 3:5-11 (New Living Translation)

5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don't be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

So take a second: What's one thing you can work on today? Christ lives in you.


- g-ram

Monday, June 14, 2010

Who's Got Your Back?

Ever wonder if God's really got your back?

Romans 8:31-37 (New Living Translation)

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one--for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one--for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us.

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.") 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

The next time you're feeling insecure, remember God is on your side. That does not change.

So DON'T GIVE UP!


- g-ram

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Just What You Need

Who out there likes to depend on someone or something else? Not me. I like to feel like I am enough, or I have enough all on my own. That's why I think I relate with the Israelites in Exodus 16. I can tell you that God supplies what you and your family need, but I have a little trouble remembering that when I'm panicking over my grocery budget.

Exodus 16:11-12, 17-20 (New Living Translation)

11 Then the LORD said to Moses, 12 "I have heard the Israelites' complaints. Now tell them, 'In the evening you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.'"

...

17 So the people of Israel did as they were told. Some gathered a lot, some only a little. 18 But when they measured it out, everyone had just enough.... Each family had just what it needed.

19 Then Moses told them, "Do not keep any of it until morning." 20 But some of them didn't listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell.

God provided exactly what the Israelites needed, and He will do the same for you--in His time and in His way. Our responsibility in the whole ordeal is to remember that He will take care of us and believe it from the bottom of our hearts. Trust. Obey. Ok?


- g-ram

Sunday, June 6, 2010

When Trouble Comes Your Way

If you're anything like me, when I'm lamenting over some great travesty in my life and a friend of mine says in response to my pain, "oh, well, just consider it an opportunity for great joy when your faith is tested!"--I want to punch them. But, mostly because I know they are right. So, don't punch me, but here it is.

James 1:2-5 (New Living Translation)

2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

This doesn't mean that what you're going through no longer matters or is diminished. No, the joy comes from the fact that you know this world is not the end. There's your joy! And it's fine to see that joy and still have a good old fashioned weepy breakdown.


- g-ram